More than 10,000 Ebola cases have been recorded in Africa, most of them in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The outbreak has spread to other countries, with cases in Kenya and as far west as Nigeria. DR Congo declared the outbreak on 15 May, though experts say the virus had reappeared months earlier and was detected late.
Ebola spreads through contact with body fluids and causes severe haemorrhagic fever. It has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. According to Congo’s public health institute on Tuesday, 27 October, 10,060 people have been infected and 4,887 have died. About 2,684 have recovered, but the death rate is close to 50 percent.
The outbreak began in Ituri province in the northeast and has spread to eight Congolese provinces. The virus has crossed borders several times. Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths before declaring its outbreak over in August. Last week, a case was found in Nigeria in a 42-year-old Swiss woman who had travelled to Uganda. She was flown to Switzerland on Monday.
The World Health Organization warned last week that Africa faces a more complex outbreak now that the virus is present in the west, east and centre. In DR Congo, the response lacks resources in remote areas, where armed groups make travel difficult. Health workers also face distrust. On Saturday, a nurse was killed and a health worker seriously injured in Tshopo province. The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which no vaccine or treatment is approved. First doses of the Ervebo vaccine have been given to volunteers in a clinical trial.
Reference
Le Monde avec AFP. (2026, October 27). Ebola : plus de 10 000 cas recensés en Afrique, la grande majorité en RDC, et 4 887 morts. Le Monde. https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2026/10/27/ebola-plus-de-10-000-cas-recenses-en-afrique-la-grande-majorite-en-rdc-et-4-887-morts_6801306_3212.html