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Ebola spreads to a sixth Congo province
September 15, 2026
Bundibugyo virus disease has spread to a sixth province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Congolese officials report a decline in transmission.
Bundibugyo virus disease is a zoonotic Ebola virus with fruit bats suspected as its natural reservoir, and the two previous outbreaks, in 2007 and 2012, carried case fatality ratios of 30% and 50%.
Key facts
- The World Health Organization puts the cumulative confirmed-case total at 6778 as of 7 September 2026: 6757 of them in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two of which were diagnosed there and later treated in Germany, plus 20 in Uganda and one in France.
- Case fatality ratios in the two earlier BVD outbreaks, reported from Uganda in 2007 and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2012, came to 30% and 50%, according to the World Health Organization.
- The World Health Organization ranks North Kivu second among affected provinces, counting 1066 confirmed cases in total as of 7 September, 453 of them recorded over the preceding 21 days.
- Congolese health ministry figures cited by The Guardian showed confirmed cases above 7,200 and deaths above 3,475 as of 14 September.
- Confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) cases and deaths logged since the last Disease Outbreak News of 28 August 2026 have come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone, the World Health Organization reports.
The World Health Organization reports a cumulative total of 6778 confirmed cases as of 7 September 2026, of which 6757 are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20 in Uganda and one in France. WHO places Ituri at the epicentre with 5406 confirmed cases, including 1114 in the previous 21 days, and North Kivu second with 1066 confirmed cases, including 453 in the same window. North Kivu also carries one of the highest case fatality ratios seen in this outbreak, 65.4%, and WHO says investigations into what drives that mortality are ongoing.
The Guardian reports Congolese health ministry data putting confirmed cases at more than 7,200, including more than 3,475 deaths, as of 14 September, and carries the health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba, saying transmission of the Bundibugyo variant is declining while preventive measures must hold. The Guardian also reports that the country received more than 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine last month, approved for the more common Zaire Ebola virus, and that Sud-Ubangi became the sixth province to report the disease. The Straits Times reports Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of the National Institute for Biomedical Research, saying on Sept 15 that the situation in Ituri has improved considerably, and quotes the UN special Ebola coordinator, Julien Harneis, telling a Geneva briefing: “It remains a deadly and a massive epidemic. There are some areas of progress, but nonetheless, in other areas, we continue to see growth in cases.”
The accounts split on how far the outbreak has been pulled back. One account carries the health minister removing ten health zones from the active list, six of them after more than 42 days without a new case, and calling the outbreak under control; another holds that cases in North Kivu, and in Butembo in particular, are rising fast, with insecurity and population movement working against control. The difference sits in what each measures: zones that have gone quiet against provinces where transmission is still expanding. Settled across the coverage is the geographic spread, the vaccine delivery, the zoonotic nature of the virus, and the conditions of conflict and displacement in which the response operates. The case and death totals, and the reach of the decline, are not.
“We are fighting a very dangerous virus that is killing many of our people. Today, we can say that the outbreak is under control,” he said, in remarks carried by The Guardian.
Bundibugyo
Still developing
The decline in transmission does not close, and the figures do not line up between the accounts. Parts of the account were still forming at the time of draft.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- who.int — Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus
- The Guardian — Ebola outbreak in DRC has peaked, say authorities, as infection rates slow
- The Straits Times — UN sees some progress in DR Congo’s Ebola fight, but too early to call peak - The Straits Times
Toggle read the full reports of 5 of the 6 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.