FACTS
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached almost 11,000 confirmed cases and more than 5,300 deaths across eight provinces, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Nov. 11. He said transmission is slowing in some areas while new hotspots keep emerging. He named insecurity as one of the greatest obstacles to the response.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a type of Ebola for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment, according to the WHO. It was declared on May 15, 2026, and remains a public health emergency of international concern.
What WHO said about the Ebola outbreak
Speaking to WHO member states, Tedros said there are “encouraging signs that transmission is slowing in some areas,” but that “new hotspots continue to emerge, and the outbreak is still expanding in other areas.”
“We cannot mistake progress in some places for control of the outbreak as a whole,” he said. Almost 3,000 people have recovered.
He said more than 1,000 contacts of patients have been lost to follow-up and three confirmed cases are unaccounted for.
Violence against health workers
Tedros said an attack on Cantine-Aloya killed 66 civilians, including three health workers, and that three health facilities were looted and burned. “This appalling attack represents both a major humanitarian emergency and a significant setback to the response,” he said.
He also listed the killing of a nurse in Tshopo province, a grenade found near a health office, gunfire near a treatment center, an attempted arson and threats against staff. He warned that late pay for frontline workers risks strikes and tension in communities.
Where the cases are
WHO’s most recent Disease Outbreak News report, published Nov. 6 with data through Nov. 3, counted 10,668 confirmed cases and 5,198 deaths in Congo, a crude fatality rate of 48.7%. Cases had been reported in 67 health zones, with active spread in 51.
Ituri province had the most, with 7,485 cases and 3,532 deaths, followed by North Kivu with 2,593 cases and 1,422 deaths.
Five countries have reported cases: Congo, France, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. WHO said France and Uganda have controlled their outbreaks. Tedros said Kenya, which had nine cases and two deaths, has discharged its last patient and started a 42-day countdown to being declared free of Ebola.
Vaccine trials
WHO said a Phase 2/3 vaccine trial began Oct. 23, with the first participants enrolled in Bunia, and that expert advisers recommended adding two candidate vaccines, including one from Moderna. Tedros cautioned that “vaccines are not a substitute for the measures that save lives now.”
WHO advises against restricting travel or trade with affected countries. “We again call on countries that have imposed blanket travel restrictions to lift them,” Tedros said.
More coverage is in the Stay Current News Health section.
