Medical staff in Bunia, Congo.Image: keystone
July 6, 2026, 11:11 amJuly 6, 2026, 11:11 am
More than 500 people have already died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Central African country’s information ministry said the number of confirmed cases currently stands at 1,561, including 506 deaths. 628 patients are currently being treated in clinics and isolation centers, and 253 are considered to have recovered.
The African health organization Africa CDC is concerned that patients who tested positive repeatedly fled isolation centers. Since the outbreak was announced in May, 19 people in neighboring Uganda had contracted Ebola and two of them had died from the highly dangerous disease. The cases were linked to the outbreak in northeastern Congo.
Ebola fever is a life-threatening disease. The virus is transmitted through physical contact and contact with body fluids. The current outbreak is particularly difficult to contain, also because there is currently neither a vaccine nor a special therapy for the Ebola pathogen of the Bundibugyo type. However, clinical testing of two antiviral therapy methods against the virus has been underway since last week. (sda/dpa)