Ebola outbreak kills more than 5,300 people in DR Congo

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkCongolese medical workers wearing personal protective equipment prepare to bury the wooden coffin containing the body of Dr Marie-France Shogogo, who died at an Ebola treatment centre after contracting the virus, at Nyamurongo cemetery in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on October 31, 2026 [Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters]By AFP and ReutersPublished On 3 Nov 20263 Nov 2026The death toll from the latest Ebola outbreak in Africa has surpassed 5,300, with the majority of cases recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).The DRC is the epicentre of the latest outbreak, having declared its 17th – and largest – Ebola outbreak in mid-May.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Uganda orders 21-day Ebola quarantine for citizens returning from DR Congolist 2 of 3Attackers kill nurse, injure health worker responding to DRC Ebola caselist 3 of 3Incredible celebrations as last patient leaves a DRC Ebola centreend of listAccording to data from the Africa CDC on Monday, the outbreak has killed 5,376 people: 5,372 in the DRC and two each in Kenya and Uganda.The Bundibugyo strain of the virus, responsible for the current outbreak, has infected some 10,444 people in the DRC, Uganda and Kenya, with a death rate of more than 50 percent.The virus has crossed borders several times in recent months.Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 cases, almost all involving people who had travelled from the DRC, before being declared Ebola-free in August.Kenya recorded two deaths and nine infections in October, marking the first recorded cases of Ebola in the country.In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, health authorities said two rounds of testing of two suspected cases in the northeast region confirmed the samples were negative.Abuja reported its first imported case in October, the first in more than a decade. It has no recorded deaths.In France, a single case involving a health worker returning from the DRC was reported in July.There are no approved treatments or vaccines to combat the rare Bundibugyo strain.In recent weeks, clinical trials have begun with the Ervebo vaccine, which has proved effective against the more common Zaire strain.