DR Congo Ebola outbreak reaches sixth province after death in Bas-Uele

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province after a man died in Bas-Uele, health officials said on Thursday, August 13, 2026.

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya said the man had travelled from Isiro in Haut-Uele province to Buta, the capital of Bas-Uele, where he died. Bas-Uele had not previously recorded a case in the current outbreak.

Government figures released on Tuesday put the outbreak at more than 4,500 cases and more than 2,100 deaths. More than 3,400 cases have been recorded in Ituri province, where the outbreak was first reported.

The outbreak was officially declared on May 15, although World Health Organization sequencing indicates transmission began in February. Officials say 60% to 70% of new cases are being detected among people who were not already listed as contacts, complicating efforts to interrupt transmission.

The virus is a genetically distinct form of the Bundibugyo strain. No vaccine or treatment has yet been approved for that strain, though clinical trials of two treatments began in Ituri in July and two strain-specific vaccines are being tested in people.

The response is also facing operational pressure. Health workers at the Nizi treatment centre in Ituri went on strike on August 13 over three months of unpaid wages, temporarily closing the facility. Aid reductions, insecurity and misinformation have added to the challenge.

Uganda has recorded 20 cases linked to the broader outbreak, all in Kampala, but authorities reported no community transmission and said the last case there was recorded on June 21.