DR Congo Ebola Cases Surpass 7,000 Amid Geographic Spread

Official government figures released Friday showed that confirmed Ebola virus cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo have exceeded 7,000 — reaching 7,022 infections across seven provinces.

This outbreak now ranks as the second-largest in recorded history, trailing only the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed over 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Late Friday evening, updated government data reported the death toll had risen to 3,398.

A newly identified case emerged in South Ubangi Province in the country’s northwest — geographically distant from the outbreak’s main epicenter. Health authorities confirmed the infection in a 23-year-old man who died on Tuesday.

Testing confirmed he was infected with the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. He had left South Kivu Province in eastern DR Congo on 10 July, spent time abroad, and later returned to the country before arriving in South Ubangi — a region bordering both the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Tracking Contacts in South Ubangi

In its latest situation report, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Institute of Public Health stated: “Contact tracing for the first confirmed case in South Ubangi Province is currently underway.”

Operational Constraints Hampering Response

According to the World Health Organization, shortages of trained personnel, operational partners, and funding are impeding efforts to scale up the Ebola response as the outbreak spreads geographically.