What to know about new Ebola outbreak that has killed 65 people in Congo

Key Points:

• Africa’s top public health body, the Africa CDC, has confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths reported so far, though only four deaths are laboratory-confirmed.
• The outbreak is concentrated in remote areas of Ituri, including Mongwalu, Rwampara, and the provincial capital Bunia, which is near the Uganda border, raising concerns about cross-border spread amid intense population movements and ongoing security crises.
• The Africa CDC is coordinating an urgent response with Congo, Uganda, South Sudan, UN agencies, and partners to focus on surveillance, safe burials, resource mobilization, and cross-border coordination to contain the outbreak.
• Congo faces logistical challenges in outbreak response due to poor infrastructure and vast distances, which previously delayed vaccine delivery; funding concerns also persist following recent U.S. aid cuts that had supported past Ebola responses.
• This is Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak since 1976, occurring just months after the last outbreak ended in December 2023; Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and contaminated materials.