Ebola kills 4,018 in Congo, with 8,300 cases across seven provinces

The Ebola outbreak continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Congolese health officials released fresh figures on Friday. According to them, 8,300 Ebola cases have been reported in seven provinces, of which 4,018 people have died. Nearly 4,000 people have lost their lives to the disease so far, and many others are infected.

Ebola is a serious viral infectious disease, also called Ebola virus disease (EVD). The risk of its spread is growing in African countries. Congo's health body also released other figures. According to them, 2,162 patients have recovered so far. The body also said the fatality rate from Ebola is 48.4 per cent.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, or MSF), the international medical aid organisation, warned on Thursday that the death toll from Ebola could rise in the coming days. MSF cited an important reason: delays in identifying patients at the local level.

It has been described as the biggest crisis in the DRC's history. Earlier, Ebola wreaked havoc in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, killing thousands of people then as well. The outbreak now spreading in Congo in 2026 is the largest so far.

Meanwhile, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has asked the other countries of Africa to stay alert. Its view is that even if patients in Congo are recovering quickly, the disease could spread fast in neighbouring countries.

At an online press conference, Africa CDC official Wasam Mankola said that in mid-May the outbreak was confined to just three areas. It has now reached 63 areas in seven provinces. Infection is still being seen in 45 of these areas.

Mankola also said that the graph of cases has remained somewhat stable over the past four to five weeks, and the number of patients has come down slightly for now. Even so, he said medical officials have been instructed to keep screening people for health problems continuously.