Healthcare workers support Ebola surveillance and community response efforts in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on 5 August 2026. Photo: Reuters

NNA News - The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to outpace response efforts, with confirmed infections approaching 3,900 and health authorities warning that no proven vaccine or specific treatment is yet available for the Bundibugyo strain driving the epidemic. According to the DRC's public health authority, the country had recorded 3,874 confirmed Ebola cases and 1,751 confirmed deaths as of 4 August. The outbreak's fatality rate stands at 45.1 percent.

The epidemic has spread across 51 health zones in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo and South Kivu, with Ituri accounting for more than 87 percent of all confirmed infections. Health officials said community transmission remains a major concern. Of the 44 deaths recorded on Monday, 30 occurred outside Ebola treatment centres, while contact tracing coverage has fallen to 78.4 percent, significantly below the operational target of 95 percent.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the outbreak as the largest Ebola epidemic the DRC has ever experienced. Speaking in Geneva, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic warned that the response remains overwhelmed by the pace of transmission. "The outbreak is unfortunately still expanding beyond the capacity of the response." The WHO has appealed for additional funding to expand treatment facilities, strengthen field investigation teams, increase safe burial operations and deploy more community health workers.

Despite ongoing scientific progress, health experts say there are still no approved vaccines or treatments specifically proven to protect against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus responsible for the current outbreak. WHO Acting Lead for the R&D Blueprint Vasee Moorthy said several clinical trials are advancing faster than in previous Ebola emergencies because research protocols were prepared before the outbreak.

Health workers screen residents during Ebola response operations in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 5 August 2026. Photo:  Reuters

The PARTNERS treatment trial has enrolled more than 50 patients across three treatment sites in Ituri and is expected to expand as additional sites become operational. A separate clinical study evaluating obeldesivir, an experimental oral antiviral drug, has recruited more than 25 high-risk contacts to determine whether the medication can prevent Ebola infection after exposure. Research into vaccines is also progressing. 

A vaccine jointly developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India entered Phase 1 clinical trials in the United Kingdom on 24 July, while a second candidate developed by Moderna is expected to begin Phase 1 testing in Canada this week. Moorthy cautioned that while early laboratory results are encouraging, researchers will likely need several more months before determining whether the vaccines are safe and effective in humans. 

Meanwhile, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director-General Jean Kaseya travelled to Bunia in Ituri Province on Tuesday to assess the outbreak response alongside WHO officials and other international partners. Kaseya said the mission would evaluate response operations, identify urgent gaps and engage directly with frontline health workers and affected communities. "Every delay gives the virus more ground." He identified rapid case detection, comprehensive contact tracing, protecting healthcare workers and bringing testing and treatment closer to affected communities as immediate priorities.

Medical personnel conduct Ebola testing during an outbreak response operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 5 August 2026. Photo: Reuters

The current epidemic, declared on 15 May, is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the DRC. Health authorities say continued armed conflict, cross-border movement, artisanal mining activities and population displacement in eastern DRC are complicating efforts to contain transmission.