Congo Ebola Outbreak: What We Know Six Months After It Was Declared

Congo's Ebola outbreak is still not under control six months after it was declared on May 15, according to Africa's top public health agency and government data cited by ABC News and Al Jazeera. More than 11,000 cases have been recorded, and roughly half of those infected have died.

Here are the main questions about where the outbreak stands.

How big is the outbreak?

Al Jazeera, citing government data, reported more than 11,200 cases and 5,500 deaths since the declaration. The Associated Press, via ABC News, called it the deadliest of Congo's 17 Ebola outbreaks and said it is on track to pass the death toll of the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which killed 11,000 people.

Al Jazeera ranks it as the second-largest and second-deadliest on record, behind that West African epidemic, which infected more than 28,600 people. It has reached eight of the country's 26 provinces and is concentrated in the east, particularly Ituri and North Kivu.

Why has it been so hard to contain?

The virus appears to have circulated unnoticed for some time: by the time the outbreak was announced in mid-May, 43 deaths had already been recorded, ABC News reported. Delayed detection, conflict and strained health services have since helped it spread faster than in earlier outbreaks, according to Al Jazeera.

Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told Reuters that more than 80% of new cases emerge outside contact lists. That means most infections are not being traced. Contact tracing and isolation remain inadequate, ABC News reported, and experts told the AP there is little chance of controlling the outbreak within the next year.

Many people are dying outside health centers, where burials can happen without specialist supervision. The AP put the share at one-third of deaths, while Kaseya said more than 65% of deaths have occurred in the community, so the figures differ.

The strain involved, Bundibugyo, has no vaccine or treatment developed specifically for it, according to Al Jazeera. It kills about half of the people it infects.

What is happening with money and health workers?

Health workers have repeatedly gone on strike over pay that is months overdue, sometimes leaving confirmed patients without care, ABC News reported. Kaseya said the Congolese government is working to digitize the payroll for workers who had gone unpaid for months.

Funding is another problem. Kaseya said only $1.3 billion of the $2.9 billion pledged by donors has been released, and he called the weak coordination between Congo and donors “a collective failure.” Last month, the Africa CDC raised concerns about more than $700 million in aid that remains unaccounted for. Doctors Without Borders, known as MSF, described a disconnect between the resources mobilized and what reaches patients, frontline workers and communities.

How are children affected?

Children are especially vulnerable, particularly those with conditions such as malnutrition, experts told the AP. UNICEF said children accounted for 35% of deaths recorded through Nov. 4, and children under 5 made up 21% of all deaths. Nearly 72% of infected children in that age group have died. Most affected children have not received specialized care.

Has it spread beyond Congo?

Yes. Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda have confirmed cases, according to the AP, making this the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak on record. Al Jazeera said cases have been reported in East, Central and West Africa. Health authorities in northeast Nigeria are also probing two suspected cases, Al Jazeera noted.

The outbreak is centered on a region already hit by fighting between government forces and many rebel groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, and by attacks on civilians by the Allied Democratic Forces. Health workers and health facilities have been attacked since the outbreak began, some fatally, the AP reported.

Is there any good news?

The World Health Organization (WHO) says at least 3,000 people have recovered from Ebola virus disease in Congo and returned home. Earlier this month it approved clinical trials of two new Ebola vaccines and said it expects results in early 2027. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X that transmission is slowing in several early epicenters and that trials, including one called Tumaini, are advancing rapidly.

Why does it matter?

Kaseya warned that if the outbreak is not stopped now, it could become the worst Ebola outbreak the world has seen. For people living in the affected areas, the risk is immediate: untraced cases, community deaths and disrupted care make each new infection harder to contain. For the wider region, the spread to several countries has raised fears of transmission across Africa, according to the AP.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ABC News, Al Jazeera