DR Congo Ebola Outbreak Passes 11,000 Cases and 5,387 Deaths — Now the Second Deadliest on Record

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now passed 11,000 confirmed cases, making it the second-largest and second-deadliest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. Government data released on Tuesday showed 11,042 people have been infected and 5,387 have died since the outbreak was declared in mid-May 2026.

The figures confirm what health workers on the ground have feared for weeks: the outbreak is still growing, nearly six months after it began, and it is spreading across more of the country than any Ebola outbreak before it. The only outbreak larger than this one is the 2014–2016 epidemic in West Africa, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000.

This outbreak is caused by a rare type of the virus called Bundibugyo, for which there is still no approved vaccine and no approved treatment. That fact, combined with conflict in the worst-hit areas and a health system under severe strain, is making the response one of the hardest the world has ever attempted.

What the New Numbers Show

The latest figures come from the Congolese government and were reported by Reuters on Tuesday, 10 November. They show 11,042 confirmed infections and 5,387 deaths.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had published a slightly earlier snapshot in its Disease Outbreak News bulletin on 6 November. That update, covering data up to 3 November, counted 10,668 confirmed cases and 5,198 deaths, with 2,881 people recorded as recovered. The gap between the two sets of figures shows how fast the outbreak is still moving — roughly 400 more cases and nearly 200 more deaths were added in about a week.

The WHO’s figures also show how deadly the disease is proving to be. The crude case fatality ratio — the share of confirmed patients who have died — stands at 48.7 per cent. In simple terms, about one in every two people confirmed with the virus has died.

The outbreak was declared on 15 May 2026. It has now been running for almost six months, and transmission is still active. In the three weeks before 3 November alone, 1,463 new confirmed cases were reported.

Where the Outbreak Is Spreading

Cases have now been found in 67 health zones across eight of the DR Congo’s 26 provinces. In 51 of those zones, transmission was still active in the three weeks before the WHO’s latest update. Eight provinces have recorded infections, and many deaths have happened outside treatment centres — meaning people are dying at home or in their communities before they ever reach medical care.

The eastern province of Ituri remains the epicentre. It has recorded 7,485 confirmed cases and 3,532 deaths — roughly two-thirds of the country’s total. In Ituri, 28 of the province’s 36 health zones have reported cases. The provincial capital, Bunia, is where the main vaccine trial is now running.

North Kivu is the second worst-hit province, with 640 new cases in the most recent 21-day period counted by the WHO, behind Ituri’s 710. Haut-Uélé recorded 77 new cases in the same period, Tshopo 31, and Nord-Ubangi 5.

The outbreak has also crossed borders. Cases have been reported in five countries since the outbreak was declared: DR Congo, France, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. Kenya has nine confirmed cases and two deaths, and has reported no new cases since 19 October. Two countries — Switzerland and the United Kingdom — have medically evacuated confirmed cases among their citizens. The British case, a health and care worker, was flown to London on 5 November and is receiving medical care there.

Reuters noted that the disease has now been reported in East, Central and West Africa, giving this outbreak the widest geographic spread of any Ebola outbreak on the continent to date.

Why This Outbreak Is So Hard to Stop

Health officials point to three problems that have allowed the outbreak to grow so large: late detection, conflict, and a health system that was already stretched thin.

The outbreak was not spotted quickly. By the time it was declared in May, the virus had already been spreading. Al Jazeera reported that authorities are struggling to contain the country’s largest ever Ebola outbreak because of delayed detection, conflict and strained health services.

Many of the worst-hit areas are also areas affected by insecurity. Eastern DR Congo has been torn by armed conflict for years, and fighting makes it harder for health teams to reach villages, trace the contacts of sick people, and run safe burial teams. It also makes it harder for sick people to reach treatment centres — one reason so many deaths are happening in communities rather than in care.

Contact tracing — finding everyone who has been near a sick person and watching them for symptoms — is one of the most important tools for stopping Ebola. But the WHO reported that, as of 3 November, only 86 per cent of contacts were being seen each day on average over the previous two weeks. The target is 95 per cent. That gap means some people who may be infected are not being monitored, and the virus can keep spreading quietly.

The Search for a Vaccine

There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus. That is the central scientific problem of this outbreak.

The vaccines the world already has were designed for a different species of the virus — Zaire ebolavirus, which caused the West African epidemic. Those vaccines may or may not protect against Bundibugyo, and finding out is now one of the most urgent tasks in global health.

In late October, the WHO backed a clinical trial in the DR Congo called Tumaini — the Swahili word for “hope”. The trial began on 23 October in Bunia, in Ituri province, and the first participant was enrolled the same day. It is testing the Ervebo vaccine, which is licensed against the Zaire species, to see whether it also protects against Bundibugyo.

On 5 November, the WHO announced that two more vaccine candidates, designed specifically for the Bundibugyo virus, will be added to the trial. This will be the first time vaccines made for Bundibugyo have been tested during an outbreak of the disease.

The two new candidates are ChAdOx1 BDBV, developed by the University of Oxford together with the Serum Institute of India, and mRNA-1469, developed by the American pharmaceutical company Moderna. They were recommended by the WHO’s independent Technical Advisory Group on Candidate Vaccine Prioritization.

The trial uses a method called ring vaccination. When a person is confirmed with the virus, the people around them — their family, friends, carers and other close contacts, and the contacts of those contacts — are offered the vaccine. The idea is to build a ring of protection around each case and stop the virus from spreading further.

What It Means for the Rest of the World

For most people outside Central Africa, the risk from this outbreak remains low. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the risk to the American public remains low and that no cases have been found in the United States.

The WHO’s risk assessment, published on 14 August, rated the risk as very high inside the DR Congo, high for neighbouring countries, and low for the rest of Africa and the world. Based on the information available, the WHO advises against any restriction on travel to, or trade with, countries affected by the outbreak.

That advice matters. Past outbreaks have shown that travel bans and border closures can do more harm than good — cutting off the very supplies and health workers a country needs to fight the disease, while pushing the movement of people underground, where it cannot be monitored at all.

What the world is watching instead is whether the response can catch up with the virus. The key numbers to watch in the coming weeks are simple: whether daily new cases start to fall, whether more contacts are reached each day, and whether fewer people are dying outside treatment centres. On all three measures, the latest figures show the outbreak is still ahead.

What Happens Next

The Tumaini trial will continue to enrol participants in Bunia, and the two new Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates will join it in the coming weeks. Health teams will keep pushing into the worst-hit areas of Ituri and North Kivu, trying to find cases earlier and reach more contacts.

The Congolese government and the WHO will also keep publishing updated case counts, usually every week or two. The next update will show whether the outbreak is finally slowing — or whether it is still growing towards the scale of the West African epidemic that remains the only one larger than this.

For now, the numbers tell a stark story. Nearly six months in, with more than 11,000 cases and more than 5,300 deaths, this has become the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history. The question is whether the vaccines now being tested can arrive in time to stop it from getting worse.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ebola?

Ebola is a severe viral disease that causes fever, weakness, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, and in many cases internal and external bleeding. It spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a sick person, or with objects contaminated by them. It does not spread through the air like flu or COVID-19.

What is the Bundibugyo virus?

Bundibugyo is one of the species of the Ebola virus. It was first identified in 2007 in the Bundibugyo district of Uganda. It is rarer than the Zaire species, which caused the 2014–2016 West African epidemic, and fewer tools have been developed against it.

How deadly is this outbreak?

As of 3 November, the WHO put the crude case fatality ratio at 48.7 per cent — about one in every two confirmed patients has died. The latest government figures show 5,387 deaths out of 11,042 confirmed cases.

Is there a vaccine for this type of Ebola?

Not yet. There is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The Tumaini trial in the DR Congo is testing three candidates, including two designed specifically for Bundibugyo.

Should I worry if I am not in Africa?

The WHO rates the global risk as low, and the CDC says the risk to the American public remains low. The WHO advises against travel or trade restrictions with affected countries.

How does this outbreak compare with the 2014–2016 epidemic?

The West African epidemic of 2014–2016 infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000, making it the largest Ebola outbreak on record. The current DR Congo outbreak, with 11,042 cases and 5,387 deaths, is now the second-largest and second-deadliest.

Conclusion

The DR Congo Ebola outbreak has crossed a grim milestone. With 11,042 confirmed cases and 5,387 deaths, it is now the second-largest and second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, behind only the West African epidemic of a decade ago.

The virus is still spreading across eight provinces, with Ituri at the centre of the crisis. Health workers face delayed detection, armed conflict and a stretched health system, and there is still no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain behind the outbreak.

The hope lies in Bunia, where the Tumaini trial is testing vaccines that could finally give doctors a weapon against this strain. Until those results come in, the response depends on the basics that have always stopped Ebola: finding cases fast, tracing contacts, isolating the sick, and burying the dead safely.

The world will be watching the next set of numbers closely. If they keep rising, this outbreak could move closer to the scale of the West African epidemic. If they start to fall, it will be the first sign that the response is finally winning.

Sources

• Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/congos-ebola-cases-surpass-11000-government-data-show-2026-11-10/
• Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/11/11/ebola-cases-in-dr-congo-pass-11000-with-5387-deaths
• World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON625
• UN News: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/11/1168742

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.