Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in northeastern Ituri province, where at least 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases have been reported, according to Africa’s top public health agency.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak is concentrated mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, with additional suspected cases being monitored in and around Bunia. Laboratory testing in Kinshasa detected Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples, while four deaths have so far been confirmed among laboratory-positive cases.
Health officials met in Kinshasa on Friday to coordinate the response. Dieudonné Mwamba, Director General of the National Institute of Public Health, said teams were already tracking suspected cases and working to contain the spread.
“We know that there is an outbreak in Ituri province, affecting mainly the two health zones of Rwampara and Mongbwalu,” Mwamba said, adding that several suspected cases were under observation.
The World Health Organization said it learned of suspected cases on May 5 and dispatched a team to Ituri to support investigations. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said field samples initially tested negative before a Kinshasa laboratory later confirmed positive cases.
The outbreak has raised concern because Ituri borders Uganda and South Sudan and has heavy population movement linked to gold mining. Africa CDC warned that the urban setting of Bunia and Rwampara, along with mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, could increase the risk of wider spread.
Uganda’s Health Ministry also confirmed that a Congolese man died in Kampala from Ebola Bundibugyo after travelling from the DRC, heightening fears of cross-border transmission.
Ituri’s insecurity may complicate the response. The province has suffered years of militia violence, displacement and difficult access to remote communities, all of which can slow contact tracing, surveillance and safe burials.
DR Congo has experienced repeated Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in 1976. The country’s deadliest outbreak, from 2018 to 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people in eastern Congo.
The latest outbreak comes months after another Ebola episode in central DRC was declared over in December. Health authorities are now racing to identify contacts, strengthen surveillance and prevent the virus from spreading further across Ituri and neighbouring countries.
