Ebola: North Kivu becomes main hotspot in DR Congo
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Mali Actu
The main hotspot of the 17th Ebola outbreak has moved to North Kivu, while Ituri still has the heaviest toll. According to the presidential Task Force, as of 8 November, the country has 10,920 confirmed cases and 5,323 deaths, with a Bundibugyo strain for which no licensed vaccine exists.
The main hotspot of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has shifted to North Kivu, while Ituri remains the province most affected across the whole outbreak, according to the report of the presidential Task Force as of 8 November 2026. The outbreak, declared in May 2026, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which no licensed vaccine exists.
Attacks on health facilities in Beni and Mabalako, reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), are causing population displacement. The contact tracing rate has thus fallen to 69.8%, well below the 95% threshold deemed necessary to break the chain of transmission. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the “best medicine” for people in the East remained the restoration of peace.
