Africa CDC Confirms 13 Ebola Cases in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri Province

Preliminary laboratory results have detected the Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples tested. The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo’s previous Ebola outbreak was declared over after 43 deaths.

N. agencies and other countries. The coordination meeting will focus on immediate response priorities, cross-border coordination, surveillance, laboratory support, infection prevention and control, risk communication, safe and dignified burials, and resource mobilization.

Africa CDC noted that intense population movement, mining activity, ongoing insecurity, and challenges in contact tracing could complicate containment efforts. The affected areas lie near the borders with Uganda and South Sudan. This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in Congo since the disease first emerged in the country in 1976.

An Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people. The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen.

The disease caused by the Ebola virus is rare but severe, and often fatal. Ituri province is characterized by poor road networks and is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Kinshasa. Congo, Africa’s second-largest country by land area, often faces logistical challenges in responding to disease outbreaks.

Last year’s Ebola outbreak lasted three months. During last year’s outbreak, the World Health Organization initially faced significant challenges in delivering vaccines due to limited access and scarce funds. Congo has been battling various armed groups in the east, including the M23 rebel group, which launched a rapid assault in January 2025 and has since occupied key cities.

Ituri province is battling violence from the Allied Democratic Force, an Islamic State-linked militant group. The Allied Democratic Force has killed dozens in Ituri and in other parts of eastern Congo.