DRC Ebola Outbreak at Six Months: More Than 11,000 Cases and 5,400 Deaths, Children Over a Quarter of Cases
A joint release issued on 15 November 2026 said the Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has lasted six months, with more than 11,000 cases and more than 5,400 deaths reported since it began. Children account for more than a quarter of confirmed cases and one third of deaths, and seven in ten children under five with confirmed Ebola have died.
The outbreak has expanded to 67 health zones in eight provinces, with 400 to 500 new cases still reported each week. Rapid transmission has been halted in the early epicentres of Mongbwalu, Nyankunde, Nizi, Rwampara and Butembo, and new cases in Bunia have halved. Diagnostic capacity has grown from two laboratories to more than two dozen, close to 2,000 treatment beds are available in 104 treatment and transit centres, and around 3,000 people have recovered. Recent imported cases in Kenya and Nigeria underscore the continuing risk of spread beyond national borders.
Insecurity remains one of the greatest obstacles. A recent armed attack in the Cantine-Aloya locality led to 66 civilian deaths, including three health workers; three health facilities were looted and more than 1,000 contacts were lost to follow-up. There have been over 80 attacks on health care since the outbreak was declared. The release called for fast, flexible funding to be sustained through 2027, alongside safe access and protection of health care.
Source: UNICEF and partner agencies
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图中是联合国秘书长古特雷斯访问刚果（金）Mangina埃博拉治疗中心并与康复者见面的场景。来源：MONUSCO Photos, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons。
