Congo's Ebola outbreak expands to seventh province as Bundibugyo strain spreads westward

Local authorities confirmed that Congo’s record-breaking Ebola outbreak has expanded into a seventh province, with the rapid spread showing no indication of slowing down.

According to Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe, governor of the northwestern province of Sud-Ubangi, testing by Congo’s national research institute identified the rare Bundibugyo virus strain responsible for the ongoing surge.

Released on Thursday and reported by local media outlets on Friday, the official statement said that the positive sample originated in Sud-Ubangi’s Bulu health district, though details regarding the source of infection remain undisclosed.

On Thursday, local lawmaker and former health minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani posted on social platform X that a 23-year-old man had died from the virus in the Sud-Ubangi town of Gwaka.

Mbungani stated that over three weeks, the deceased individual completed an extensive journey, departing South Kivu province—where confirmed Ebola cases had been logged—and traveling through Rwanda and Uganda before arriving in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak.

From the northeast of the country, the man then moved to the northwest, traveling through the provinces of Tshopo, Mongala, and Sud-Ubangi, according to Mbungani.

This development makes Sud-Ubangi the seventh affected province and the first in western Congo, marking a concerning outward expansion from what was previously concentrated in the east. Although a case linked to eastern travel was detected in Kinshasa in May, the capital—located more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the epicenter—was not designated as an affected province.

As of Wednesday, official government statistics record 6,942 cases and 3,349 fatalities.

The World Health Organization has warned that the outbreak remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people primarily in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

In recent weeks, newly reported cases and deaths have fallen in Ituri province, but increased sharply in neighboring North Kivu and Haut-Uele.

The virus is spreading amid severe challenges to humanitarian relief efforts, driven by ongoing insecurity, displacement, a health workers' strike, and significant population movement. The situation is especially alarming at displacement sites, where residents live in highly precarious conditions.

Sud-Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic, does not adjoin any of the six eastern provinces where Ebola had previously been confirmed, including Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo, and Bas-Uele.

The WHO noted last month that the virus risks spreading from Congo into neighboring South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

Neighboring Uganda, which recorded 20 cases since May, declared itself free of Ebola in July.

Last month, Congo began administering the Ervebo vaccine to health workers and other front-line personnel. The vaccine proved effective during previous outbreaks caused by Zaire, a different and more common Ebola virus strain.

Clinical trials are currently in progress to find a licensed vaccine specifically for the Bundibugyo virus.

Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Africa CDC’s director for research, clinical trials and innovation, stated Thursday that vaccination trials launched in Tshopo, Haut-Uele, and Bas-Uele provinces, with operations in Ituri scheduled to begin next week.