DRC Congo Ebola cases climb to 782, including 178 deaths

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has increased to 782, including 178 deaths, as the outbreak continues to spread into additional health zones, according to the latest situation report issued by public health authorities.

On Saturday alone, authorities recorded 72 new confirmed cases and 29 deaths in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu. The updated figures were published on Sunday.

The outbreak has now reached two additional health zones: Nia-Nia in Ituri Province and Mabalako in North Kivu Province. Their inclusion brings the total number of affected health zones to 31 across three provinces—Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu. A health zone serves as a local public health management unit responsible for disease surveillance, case reporting, and response coordination.

The outbreak, which is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, was officially declared on May 15.

As of Saturday, 359 patients were either hospitalized or being held in isolation, while 40 patients had recovered from the disease.

Health authorities also reported 136 suspected cases on Saturday, including 49 deaths.

Contact tracing remains a significant challenge. A total of 6,275 contacts were being monitored across the three affected provinces, but only 3,548 were successfully reached, resulting in a contact follow-up rate of 56.5 percent—far below the target rate of 95 percent.

The report highlighted several obstacles affecting the response effort, including reluctance among some communities to undergo post-mortem swabbing, insufficient capacity at Ebola treatment centers, weak contact-tracing operations, shortages of infection prevention and control supplies in North Kivu, inadequate alert reporting systems, and a funding shortfall of $21.5 million.

By Tamilla Hasanova