The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the second-largest outbreak in history, surpassing the devastating 2018–2020 epidemic after confirmed cases jumped from 2,000 in mid-July to 3,532 in a matter of weeks. The death toll has reached 1,556, with the case fatality rate at 44.1 percent.
The World Health Organization has warned the true scale of transmission may be up to four times higher than official figures, while the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention attributed the rising toll to previously unconfirmed cases and deaths now captured in revised data. The outbreak, declared on 15 May and driven by the Bundibugyo strain, has spread across five eastern provinces.
Clinical trials for a Bundibugyo vaccine began in early July, with roughly 20 participants enrolled by mid-month. Uganda, which ended its own outbreak in June, has deployed experts to border zones including Tchomia and Kasenyi.