Kinshasa, October 2, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has crossed 4,000, with 4,018 deaths reported among 8,300 confirmed cases across seven provinces, according to the latest figures released by Congolese health authorities on Friday.
A total of 2,162 patients have recovered, while the overall case fatality rate stands at 48.4 per cent, the Ministry of Health said in its latest update, as reported by Xinhua News Agency.
However, the actual death toll could be higher than the officially reported figure. International medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned on Thursday that gaps in surveillance and case detection could mean that many infections and deaths have gone unrecorded.
“The true toll (is) likely higher due to gaps in surveillance and case detection,” the organisation said.
The outbreak has become the largest and deadliest ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest Ebola outbreak worldwide, after the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.
Meanwhile, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has cautioned that the recent decline in reported Ebola cases in the DRC may be due to disruptions in disease surveillance rather than a sustained reduction in transmission.
Speaking at an online press briefing on Thursday, Africa CDC official Wessam Mankoula said the outbreak had expanded from three health zones in mid-May to 63 health zones across seven provinces. Of these, 45 health zones were still reporting active transmission.
Although the epidemic curve has largely plateaued over the past four to five weeks and reported cases declined in the latest week, the agency warned against interpreting the figures as evidence that the outbreak was under control.
“Falling in this curve doesn’t mean that the outbreak is totally under control,” Mankoula said.
Insecurity and resistance within some communities have hampered disease surveillance and response efforts in several affected areas, raising concerns that infections may be going undetected.
Health authorities and international organisations continue to face challenges in tracking the outbreak and responding to transmission across the affected provinces.
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