KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — The death toll from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has surpassed 4,000, government data showed Friday, making it the largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic ever recorded in the country and the second-largest in history.
The latest figures showed 4,018 deaths among 8,300 confirmed cases, a case fatality rate of 48.4%, with 2,162 patients recovered, Health Minister Roger Kamba told a press briefing in Kinshasa, according to Reuters. Of the 63 health zones affected across seven provinces since the outbreak began, 12 have reported no new cases for 42 days — a sign of localized improvement. But the medical charity Doctors Without Borders warned Thursday that the actual toll was likely higher than officially reported because of gaps in disease surveillance and case detection.
The outbreak, declared on May 15, is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no licensed vaccine or specific approved treatment, according to the World Health Organization. It is second only to the 2014–2016 West African outbreak, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed over 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The WHO has maintained the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern since May 17, 2026.
Containment efforts have been hampered by conflict and deep mistrust. The United Nations said soldiers burned down a key Ebola transit center in Kigonze, near Bunia in Ituri province, earlier this week while searching for weapons, forcing 19,000 people in the surrounding camp to flee, according to the Associated Press. A Congolese politician, Marie-Celestin Karondwa, was beaten to death at his home in Butembo after defending government Ebola measures, and health workers — including surveillance teams — protested unpaid wages with placards reading “No money, no data.”
International support has been increasing: France allocated 13.4 million euros to combat the disease, and the United States released an additional $267 million, according to one report. Ituri province remains the epicenter, with more than 6,000 confirmed cases. But with armed clashes displacing thousands and some residents dismissing Ebola as a hoax, health officials say containing the fastest-growing Ebola epidemic on record will require both resources and community trust.