Key Takeaways:
- An Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak was confirmed in DRC on Sept. 4, 2025, the country’s sixteenth outbreak.
- Testing suggests the outbreak is a new zoonotic spillover event and not linked to previous outbreaks in the area.
- Concurrent outbreaks, including mpox, cholera, and measles, and economic crises are complicating factors in the response.
The Ministry of Public Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared the country's sixteenth Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak on Sept. 4, 2025, following laboratory confirmation of Ebola virus (EBOV) in patients' specimens from Bulape Health Zone, in Kasai Province. Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of exposure.
The last outbreaks of EVD in the Kasai province occurred in 2007 and 2008. A total of 58 cases (48 confirmed) and 37 deaths (case fatality ratio (CFR) of 63.8 percent) have been reported Aug. 20-Sept. 24. Cases have been reported across six health areas in Bulape health zone: Dikolo (23 cases), Bulape (11 cases), Bambalaie (4 cases), Bulape Communautaire (4 cases), Ingongo (1 case), and Mpianga (1 case). The presumptive index case, a 34-year-old pregnant woman, reportedly developed symptoms on Aug. 10 and was admitted to a local hospital on Aug. 20, with symptoms of high fever, bloody diarrhea, hemorrhage, and extreme weakness; the case died on Aug. 26. The source of infection of the index case is still under investigation. Contact tracing and risk communication activities are ongoing.
Links to Previous Outbreaks Not Suspected
Samples tested on Sept. 3 at the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa confirmed the cause of the outbreak as Ebola Zaire, caused by EVD. The results obtained from whole genome sequencing suggest that the outbreak is a new zoonotic spillover event and not linked to previous outbreaks in the area. With support from the WHO and partners, the DRC's Ministry of Health is implementing public health response measures to contain the outbreak. A national Rapid Response Team has been deployed to Kasai Province to rapidly strengthen disease surveillance, treatment, and infection prevention and control in health facilities.
Ebola outbreaks in the DRC are recurrent, as the virus is present in animal reservoirs in many parts of the country. The current outbreak occurs after almost three years without a confirmed EVD outbreak in the country; the last being a single case identified in Beni city, North Kivu, in 2022.
Concurrent Disease Outbreaks a Complicating Factor
The current EVD outbreak is occurring in a complex epidemiological and humanitarian context. The DRC is facing several outbreaks, including mpox, cholera, and measles. In addition, the country is experiencing a long-term economic and political crisis, limiting the country's resources and capacity to respond to the current outbreak effectively. The outbreak's epicenter is near Tshikapa, the capital of Kasai Province, and close to the Angolan border. While the affected district is rural and hard to reach, frequent population movement increases the risk of spread. The remoteness of the affected area also makes it challenging for responders to reach due to impassable roads and natural barriers.
Epidemiological investigations are ongoing, with transmission chains and the source of the outbreak still unconfirmed, leaving the identification of further cases possible. This represents the most complete data available as of Sept. 26.
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