The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history has spread to two new health zones in eastern Congo, with a total of 60 now affected, according to the latest government figures published on Friday (August 28, 2026).

Also Read: How Congo’s Ebola outbreak became the second-most lethal on record

The two new zones affected are Biena and Manguredjipa in Congo’s North Kivu Province, where the case fatality rate is much higher than the overall rate of 48%, due in part to delayed response efforts, according to Congo’s Ministry of Health data.

It said the outbreak has recorded 5,794 confirmed cases, including 2,786 deaths, as it is spreading at an unprecedented speed, faster than efforts to track and slow it.

The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history has killed more than 1,500 people in eastern Congo, according to official data released on Thursday (July 30, 2026), a 50% spike in around a week that shows the outbreak continues to outpace response efforts.

The latest update from Congo’s government shows that as of Tuesday (July 28, 2026), 3,442 cases have been recorded in the latest outbreak, and 1,521 people have died.

The outbreak declared on May 15 is unlike most previous Ebola outbreaks because the Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments.

It has also killed more people at a quicker rate than any previous outbreak, including the 2014-2016 outbreak that was considered the worst on record with over 11,000 deaths out of at least 28,000 cases. That outbreak took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths.

Ebola is rare but highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is severe and often fatal.

Confirmed cases in Congo’s ongoing Ebola outbreak have reached 3,262, its Ministry of Health said in an overnight update, nearly the same as the 2018-2020 outbreak that is the largest ever recorded in the country.

Data from the Congolese Health Ministry showed that 1,437 patients have died out of the 3,262 cases, in what officials have said is the fastest Ebola outbreak on record, concentrated in the eastern Ituri Province.

The 2018-2020 outbreak that was recorded in Congo and neighboring Uganda lasted roughly two years, with more than 3,400 reported cases, including over 2,200 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Only the 2014-2016 outbreak across West Africa, considered the worst in history, had a higher toll with 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths.

The speed of transmission in the current outbreak comes amid concerns from residents that many communities in the affected Provinces are either unreachable or have been abandoned by responders in recent days over safety concerns amid attacks from angry residents and rebels.

“The fact that, in just 10 weeks, we have reached nearly the same number of cases recorded over an almost two-year outbreak is alarming and should stop us in our tracks,” Onesphore Bangenza, Mercy Corps response team lead in Bunia, Ituri’s capital, said on Tuesday (July 28, 2026).

“There is no doubt that the virus is moving faster than we can contain it,” Mr. Bangenza added.

The ongoing outbreak, which was declared on May 15, is unlike most previous Ebola outbreaks because the Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments.

Efforts to slow the transmission have been challenged by rebel violence in eastern Congo as well as health workers striking to protest the nonpayment of their wages.

The outbreak continues to spread faster than health officials can track despite an expanding response. A key challenge is that patient zero has yet to be identified in the outbreak while displacement from armed conflict and illegal mining in the region have made it difficult to trace thousands who have come in contact with infected individuals.

Despite distrust between communities and health workers mostly seen at the early stages of the outbreak, signs of progress have emerged.

“We can never again wage war against the Ebola teams. We have lost members of our families. As a community, we have a vested interest in fighting Ebola to return to normal life,” said Fabrice Mumbesa, a resident of Mongbwalu, a mining town at the center of the outbreak where residents previously burned down several treatment centres.

New suspected cases of Ebola have been reported in parts of Congo that were previously unaffected, the government said on Thursday (July 9, 2026), as the death toll in the country’s latest Ebola outbreak reached 600.

According to the Congolese Health Ministry, suspected cases have now been recorded in the provinces of Tshopo and Haut-Uele, signaling the continued spread of the disease beyond the epicenter in Ituri.

A Congolese government report, published late on Wednesday, said two new cases were suspected in Kisangani, in Tshopo province. The Minister did not say how many cases were suspected in Haut-Uele. The total number of confirmed cases across the country has now reached 1,759.

The report said one of the two suspected cases in Tshopo was linked to the Nia-Nia health zone in Ituri province, where the first cases were reported, while the other case “has no apparent geographical connection to known outbreaks.” Authorities were investigating.

Fastest-growing Ebola outbreak

The Africa Centre for Disease Control said on Thursday that the latest outbreak is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on the continent.

The Congolese authorities declared a fresh Ebola outbreak on May 15, after the disease had been transmitting for weeks without official detection, according to the World Health Organization. The latest outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment.

Last week, clinical trials for treatment began after researchers launched a highly anticipated study in the hope of fighting the virus.

Efforts to contain the virus have also been hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, and an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak.