Congo’s Ebola outbreak passes 10,000 cases amid deadly attack on health workers

More than 10,000 Ebola infections have now been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo as health authorities struggle to contain the country’s largest recorded outbreak of the disease.

Government figures show that 10,060 cases and 4,887 deaths have been recorded since the outbreak was declared in May. The epidemic is caused by the comparatively rare Bundibugyo strain and has become the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, behind the 2014–2016 crisis in West Africa.

The worsening emergency has been accompanied by violence against those responding to it. A nurse was killed and another health worker injured during an attack in Bafwasende, in the eastern province of Tshopo. Reports indicate that the attackers accused health workers of contaminating local water supplies, a claim linked to misinformation about how the virus spreads.

Conflict, poor transport links, community mistrust and attacks on response teams are making surveillance and treatment increasingly difficult. Around half of reported patients have died, while cases connected to the outbreak have also been identified beyond Congo, intensifying concern about regional transmission.

The Bundibugyo strain currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, making early identification, isolation, contact tracing and supportive medical care central to the response. Health organisations have warned that protecting frontline workers and rebuilding trust within affected communities will be essential if transmission is to be brought under control.

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