The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the largest documented in the country, with transmission now linking dozens of health zones across the east and northeast. The latest World Health Organization situation report, published on 14 August, recorded 4,665 confirmed cases and 2,184 deaths in the DRC as of 12 August.
Those totals are not simply the result of a single reporting backlog. WHO said 1,060 confirmed cases and 597 deaths were added after its previous update on 1 August; stronger surveillance and laboratory testing explain part of the jump, but the agency said most of it reflects the outbreak's expansion. One hundred new cases were reported in the latest 24-hour period from 22 health zones.
Ituri remains the centre of the epidemic, accounting for 85 percent of confirmed cases. But the map is widening: cases have now been reported in 54 health zones across Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo and Bas-Uélé. The first confirmed case in Bas-Uélé involved a person who had travelled from Haut-Uélé before developing symptoms on 4 August.
A response that is still catching up
Contact follow-up reached 84.2 percent on 12 August—17,460 people seen out of 20,740 who were due for monitoring. That is an improvement on the 75 percent cited during an earlier joint mission, but it remains short of the 95 percent operational target WHO and Africa CDC say is needed to identify transmission chains quickly.
Health workers are being hit as well. At least 155 infections and 45 deaths among health workers had been confirmed by 9 August. WHO linked the toll to continuing exposure in health facilities outside dedicated Ebola treatment centres, where infection-control procedures and supplies can be less reliable. Twelve attacks on health care have been recorded since the international public-health emergency was declared on 17 May, further limiting access for teams and discouraging some patients from seeking care.
The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus disease, not the Zaire species targeted by the licensed Ervebo vaccine. WHO's vaccine advisory group has recommended evaluating Ervebo in a randomized clinical trial in this outbreak. That is a research recommendation, not evidence that the vaccine already provides established protection against Bundibugyo virus.
The regional picture
Across the DRC, Uganda and France, 4,686 cases and 2,186 deaths had been confirmed by 12 August. Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths before declaring the end of its outbreak on 28 July, though heightened monitoring continues because of movement across the border. France reported no secondary transmission after an imported case. WHO continues to advise against broad travel or trade restrictions, favouring surveillance, laboratory readiness and cross-border coordination.
The immediate test is whether response capacity can move closer to communities: faster testing and isolation, reliable treatment beds, paid and protected health workers, safe burials, and information delivered by people residents trust. The statistics show where the response is behind; they do not show that the trajectory is fixed.
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Reporting note
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