Congo's Ebola outbreak now second largest on record, data shows
Members of the Civil Protection, a local community-based team that works to help mitigate the spread of the Ebola virus and ensure burials happen safely and quickly, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), load in to a coffin the body of an unidentified man, who according to his family, died of Ebola, after retrieving it from his house, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jul 10, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere
The Ebola outbreak is the second largest on record globally, government data showed on Friday, as transmission continues to outpace efforts to contain the disease.
Congo reported 3,532 cases on Friday, surpassing the total 3,481 cases recorded during the 2018-20 outbreak. Total deaths stood at 1,556, the Central African country's communications ministry said on X.
Only West Africa's 2014-16 outbreak was larger, with 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths recorded across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization.
