A new Ebola outbreak is confirmed in a remote Congo province, with 65
deaths recorded
[May 15, 2026]
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Africa CDC, the continent's top public health
body, on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s remote Ituri
province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far.
The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu
and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention said in a statement.
The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through
bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. The disease it causes is
rare, but severe and often fatal.
“Four deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases.
Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation,”
the agency said, referring to the capital of Ituri province, near the
border with Uganda.
It said preliminary laboratory results have detected the Ebola virus in
13 of 20 samples tested.
The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo’s last Ebola
outbreak was declared over after 43 deaths.
Ituri is in a remote eastern part of Congo characterized by poor road
networks, and is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the
nation’s capital of Kinshasa.
Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to
intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu,
insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing and control
challenges.
The proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan also raises
concerns, it said.
The agency said it is convening an urgent high-level coordination
meeting Friday with health authorities from Congo, Uganda and South
Sudan, together with key partners including U.N. agencies and other
countries.
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Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim kept
in an isolation tent in Beni, Congo, July 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Jerome
Delay, File)
 “The meeting will focus on immediate
response priorities, cross-border coordination, surveillance,
laboratory support, infection prevention and control, risk
communication, safe and dignified burials, and resource
mobilization,” it said.
Congo has seen more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks
This is the 17th outbreak in Congo since the disease first emerged
in the country in 1976. An Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in
eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people.
An earlier outbreak that swept across West Africa from 2014 to 2016
also killed more than 11,000 people.
The new outbreak will create more worry for the Central African
country, which has been battling various armed groups in the east,
including the M23 rebel group, which launched a rapid assault in
January last year and has since occupied key cities.
Ituri in particular is also battling violence from the Allied
Democratic Force, an Islamic State-linked militant group which has
killed dozens there and in other parts of the east.
Congo, Africa's second-largest country by land area, often faces
logistical challenges in responding to disease outbreaks. During
last year's outbreak, which lasted three months, the World Health
Organization initially faced significant challenges in delivering
vaccines due to limited access and scarce funds.
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