Africa: Ebola cases top 1,000 confirmed cases in Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health (MOH) report the number of confirmed cases in the Ebola Bundibugyo virus outbreak in three of the eastern provinces has eclipsed the 1,000 mark.

As of June 21, 1,048 confirmed cases have been reported from Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, including 267 deaths.

That’s a more than 25 percent case fatality rate, a number that continues to inch up.

Ituri remains the epicenter with the majority of cases in 22 health zones, while North Kivu is under priority surveillance in 11 zones and South Kivu reports only 3 cases with no new transmissions since May 26; contact tracing stands at 70.8%.

To date, 112 people have recovered, with 12 additional recoveries in the past 24 hours, while at least 371 patients are currently hospitalized or in isolation.

The MOH say surveillance efforts are being stepped up, with 100% of alerts investigated and 97% of travelers screened at points of entry.

Insecurity, displacement, and limited specific treatments continue to complicate containment in the conflict-affected region.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire) is the country most affected by Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified there in 1976. It has experienced the majority of known outbreaks (at least 17 as of 2026), primarily due to the virus’s likely reservoir in local wildlife (e.g., fruit bats) and factors like bushmeat handling, poor healthcare infrastructure, nosocomial (hospital-based) transmission, conflict, and population movement.