“An outbreak of Ebola virus disease has been confirmed in the province of Ituri,” the Africa CDC wrote on Friday on X. The presence of the virus was confirmed in 13 of the 20 samples tested in Kinshasa, capital of the DRC, according to the agency, which specifies that “four deaths were reported among the laboratory-confirmed cases.” Suspected cases have also been noted in Bunia, capital of Ituri province, and are “awaiting confirmation”.
15,000 deaths in Africa
The Ebola virus often remains fatal despite recent vaccines and treatments. This highly contagious hemorrhagic fever has caused 15,000 deaths in Africa over the last 50 years. The deadliest Ebola epidemic in the DRC, which occurred between 2018 and 2020, caused nearly 2,300 deaths and 3,500 patients. The current epidemic is the 17th in the DRC since the disease was first identified in 1976 in Zaire, the former name of this vast central African country. The latest epidemic, declared in August 2025 in the center of the country, caused at least 34 deaths, before being declared eradicated in December.
The AU health agency says it is monitoring “the situation closely” and is organizing on Friday “an urgent high-level coordination meeting with the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan and international partners to strengthen cross-border surveillance, preparedness and efforts to combat the epidemic.”
