Ebola Cases Exceed 11,000 as Africa CDC Warns of Response Challenges
Confirmed Ebola cases in the multi-country Bundibugyo outbreak have risen to 11,145, with 5,437 deaths recorded, as Africa marks six months since the outbreak began, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has reported.
The continental health agency says persistent insecurity, rising community infections and gaps in contact tracing are hampering efforts to contain the virus, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the outbreak’s epicentre.
Speaking at an online media briefing on Thursday, Wessam Mankoula, an Africa CDC official, said the outbreak had exposed significant weaknesses in the continent’s capacity to respond to major health emergencies.
“While we are having some progress, the past six months have shown that we are still facing challenges. Most of those challenges are concentrated in the epicentre of this outbreak, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” he said.
Africa CDC’s latest figures put the number of confirmed cases at 11,145, with 5,437 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 48.8 per cent. A further 3,058 patients have recovered.
Mankoula identified increasing infections and deaths within communities, insecurity and infections among healthcare workers as major obstacles to the response in the DRC.
He also raised concerns about contact tracing, noting that only about 11 per cent of new cases are currently linked to known contacts, far below the 95 per cent target.
The gap makes it difficult for health authorities to identify and monitor people who may have been exposed to the virus, increasing the risk of further transmission.
The outbreak is also placing additional pressure on the DRC’s already stretched health system, which is dealing with conflict, population displacement and other disease emergencies.
Despite the difficulties in the DRC, Africa CDC reported progress in containing the outbreak in Kenya and Nigeria.
Kenya recorded its first imported case on October 6 and has since reported nine confirmed cases and two deaths. No new cases have been recorded since October 19.
Kenyan health authorities announced on Wednesday that the country’s last Ebola patient had been discharged after recovery. The final 11 contacts also completed their mandatory 21-day monitoring period and were released in good health.
Nigeria has also made progress, with 59 of the 62 identified contacts completing monitoring and being discharged. The remaining three are still undergoing the mandatory 21-day observation period.
Beyond the four affected African countries, 10 others have been identified as being at high risk of the outbreak. They are South Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia, the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Somalia.
Africa CDC declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security on May 18, 2026, a day after the World Health Organisation declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
