Ebola case detected in seventh DR Congo province

September 11, 2026 at 07:32 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

A case of Ebola has been detected in South-Ubangi province, marking the seventh province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo affected by the current outbreak. The patient, who died, had traveled through Rwanda, Uganda, and Ituri province before arriving in South-Ubangi. Thirty-eight contacts have been quarantined.

Key Facts

The Ebola outbreak in the DRC has reached South-Ubangi province, the seventh province affected, according to local authorities.
As of Wednesday, 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths have been reported in the current outbreak, surpassing the 2,299 deaths recorded in the 2018-2020 outbreak.
The Bundibugyo variant of Ebola currently has no approved vaccines or treatments.
Thirty-eight people have been identified as contacts of the patient and placed in quarantine.

Case Detection

Acting governor Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe announced on Friday that Ebola was detected following laboratory analysis of a suspected case in South-Ubangi. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, head of DRC's National Institute for Biomedical Research, confirmed that a man had tested positive for Ebola. The sample from a patient in the Bulu health district was tested by the national research institute, and laboratory results found the presence of the Bundibugyo virus. Local transmission has not yet been confirmed in South-Ubangi, so the province has not been added to the official list of affected provinces.

Patient Travel History

The patient developed symptoms in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province, where Ebola cases have been reported. He traveled through Rwanda, Uganda, and Ituri province in northeastern DRC before arriving in South-Ubangi. The patient then traveled by boat on the Congo River, and Galekwa said the route exposes populations of North-Ubangi, Tshopo, and Mongala provinces. Thirty-eight people have been identified as having been in contact with the patient and have been placed in quarantine.

Outbreak Status

The current outbreak is DRC's 17th and is already the deadliest and biggest in the country's history in terms of case numbers. As of Wednesday, 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths have been reported, well above the 2,299 deaths recorded in the 2018-2020 outbreak of the Zaire Ebola virus. The World Health Organization has said the current outbreak remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak, which killed more than 11,325 people. In recent weeks, new cases and deaths have declined in Ituri province, the outbreak's epicentre, but risen sharply in neighbouring North Kivu and Upper-Uele. The Bundibugyo variant of Ebola currently has no approved vaccines or treatments.