DR Congo Ebola Toll Reaches 864, Cases Rise to 2,181

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 864 Ebola-related deaths and 2,181 confirmed infections as authorities expand surveillance and contact tracing across affected provinces.

Health authorities continue Ebola surveillance and response operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as confirmed cases and fatalities increase. Photo: EFE

July 19, 2026 Hour: 7:28 am

Authorities strengthen surveillance and contact tracing as the outbreak continues across eastern provinces.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 864 deaths and 2,181 confirmed Ebola cases since the outbreak was declared in the country’s east on May 15, according to the latest government bulletin.

RELATED: DR Congo Ebola Outbreak Passes 2,000 Confirmed Cases

Figures compiled through July 16 by the Ministry of Communication and Media show a case fatality rate of 39.6%. Authorities said 722 patients remain in isolation or hospitalized, while 412 people have recovered. The national contact-tracing rate has reached 66.9%.

Response intensifies

The outbreak has affected the eastern provinces of Ituri, the epidemic’s epicenter, North Kivu, South Kivu and Haut-Uele, as well as Tshopo Province in the country’s central-northern region.

“The response teams are strengthening surveillance, early detection, patient care and contact-tracing activities in order to contain the spread of the disease,” the Ministry of Communication said.

Text Reads: Ebola outbreak in DRC rises to 864 deaths and more than 2,000 confirmed cases

Ituri continues to record the highest number of infections, with 44 new confirmed cases and 20 additional recoveries. North Kivu reported eight new infections and maintains an 87% contact-tracing rate.

Haut-Uele has continued strengthening its surveillance system, while South Kivu and Tshopo remain stable, with no new affected health zones. Authorities have also deployed 10 additional ambulances to reinforce response operations.

Regional outlook

Neighboring Uganda, where the outbreak spread through imported cases, discharged its last hospitalized Ebola patient on Thursday after confirming 20 infections, including 15 cases imported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Two people died during the outbreak.

Uganda has now begun the required 42-day countdown without new infections before it can officially declare the outbreak over.

The current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which has a fatality rate ranging from 30% to 50% and for which there is no authorized vaccine or specific treatment, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO assesses the risk of further spread as high across sub-Saharan Africa and low at the global level.

The current outbreak is the third-largest Ebola epidemic ever recorded and the seventeenth documented in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Only the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic, which caused about 11,000 deaths and 28,000 infections, and the 2018–2020 outbreak in eastern Congo, which recorded 2,299 deaths and 3,481 cases, were larger.

Author: MK

Source: Agencies

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