DRC Reports Over 4,000 Ebola Deaths Amid Ongoing Outbreak

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached a death toll of 4,018, with confirmed cases totaling 8,300 across seven provinces, according to government data released on October 2. This outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of the Ebola virus, has become the deadliest in the country's history, surpassing the previous epidemic from 2018 to 2020.

The latest statistics indicate that more than 2,000 patients have recovered from the disease. This outbreak is now the second-deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, following the 2014–2016 West African outbreak, which infected over 28,600 individuals and resulted in more than 11,000 deaths in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

The Congolese government and the United Nations reported last month that transmission appeared to be slowing in parts of Ituri Province, where the outbreak began. However, the virus continues to spread rapidly in eastern Congo, particularly in North Kivu Province.

South Ubangi Province became the seventh province to report the outbreak last month after a man who had traveled from eastern Congo died from the virus.