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.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reopened ​the airport in the capital city of the province ⁠hit hardest by the ongoing Ebola outbreak, a government statement said, reversing a move that some residents said had cut them off from critical supplies.

The government ‌in Kinshasa announced last month that it was suspending passenger flights to Bunia, the main airport in Ituri, where ‌the first Ebola cases were confirmed. Humanitarian and medical flights continued ‌, subject ⁠to approvals. In a statement published late on Monday (June 1, 2026), ⁠Congo’s Transport Ministry said conditions were now in place “to allow a gradual and safe resumption of air transport activities” and that the airport would re-open immediately.

The Ministry said all ​passengers would have their body temperatures ‌screened before boarding and on arrival, that passengers were required to wash their hands before boarding and that any passenger with a fever would not be allowed to board.

The Africa Centres for ‌Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced the outbreak of the Bundibugyo ​strain of Ebola, Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on Friday (May 15, 2026) and the World Health Organization (WHO) swiftly declared it a ⁠public health emergency of international concern. The outbreak, already the third-largest on record, persisted for weeks undetected, say health officials, who are now behind the curve ‌and struggling to bring it under control.

Confirmed cases rise to 321

The decision to re-open the airport in Bunia followed a visit from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who told reporters on Monday (June 1, 2026) he saw some encouraging signs in the response, including five certified recoveries. But he also noted the need to ramp up testing and treatment ‌capacity and promote trust in health workers. There have been 321 confirmed Ebola cases including ​48 confirmed deaths, according to the latest government figures on Monday (June 1, 2026).

Ebola has reached 15 of 36 health zones ⁠in Ituri, and cases have also been reported in North and South Kivu ⁠provinces and in neighbouring Uganda.

The International Rescue Committee warned on Monday (June 1, 2026) that the outbreak was probably significantly larger and more ‌advanced than official figures suggested.

The aid agency said the virus might have been spreading for up to three months before the first ​official cases were detected in mid-May.