DR Congo's Worst-Ever Ebola Outbreak Passes 7,000 Recorded Cases

More than 7,000 Ebola cases have now been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's worst-ever outbreak of the disease, according to figures released Saturday by Congolese health authorities. The latest count stands at 7,022 cases since the epidemic began, with 3,398 deaths and 1,671 recoveries.

The DRC officially detected the latest outbreak — its 17th Ebola epidemic — in mid-May. It started in the northeastern Ituri province before spreading to conflict-affected, remote eastern and northern regions where armed groups operate and health infrastructure is limited. The virus was confirmed this week in a seventh province, South-Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville.

Despite that spread, Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said Saturday on X that the outbreak's peak was reached "at the beginning of the third week of August" and that "all the indicators show a decrease in the number of cases." He said 10 of the 61 affected health zones have recorded no new cases for at least 21 days. Most recorded cases remain in Ituri province, where Ebola has been detected in schools since students returned from their post-summer break; a school in the provincial capital, Bunia, has introduced mandatory hand-washing and capped classrooms at 30 pupils in response.

Ebola is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe internal and external bleeding and organ failure; it has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past 50 years. The current epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, though several vaccines and treatments are being tested.