The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a sixth province, officials confirmed Thursday, as the death toll surpasses 2,100 and the World Health Organization warns the crisis is on track to eclipse the deadliest Ebola epidemic ever recorded. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a motorcycle-taxi driver who had travelled from a neighbouring region died in Buta, a city in Bas-Uele province in northeastern Congo — a region not previously affected by the outbreak. He tested positive for the haemorrhagic virus only after his death. His colleagues then attempted to forcibly retrieve his body, prompting police intervention and raising fears that additional people may have been exposed.

With over 4,600 confirmed cases, the current outbreak — driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists — is already the second largest on record. The 2,100 deaths reached so far were accumulated nearly three times faster than in the catastrophic 2014–2016 West African epidemic, which ultimately killed more than 11,000 people. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stated plainly that at its current pace, this outbreak is on track to surpass that toll. Clinical trials of two experimental treatments began last month in Ituri province, in eastern Congo, which accounts for roughly 90 per cent of all cases and 80 per cent of deaths. The outbreak was officially declared on 15 May, but genetic sequencing has since shown it likely began in February.

The spread to Bas-Uele — a vast, sparsely connected region bordering the Central African Republic, where recurring armed violence has driven large-scale displacement — illustrates one of the core obstacles to containment. Poor roads, limited communication networks, and frequent population movements linked to gold mining and conflict make surveillance and response exceptionally difficult. Six of Congo's 26 provinces have now reported cases. The real scale of the outbreak remains uncertain.

Epidemiologists and frontline workers point to a convergence of crises compounding the response. The Bundibugyo strain differs from the more commonly studied Ebola Zaire strain, meaning existing diagnostic tests have not reliably detected it, slowing the critical work of identifying, isolating, and tracing contacts of infected individuals. Misinformation — including widespread denial that Ebola is real — continues to drive community deaths, with the WHO estimating that between 60 and 70 per cent of Ebola-related fatalities occur outside health facilities. Meanwhile, some frontline health workers have not been paid in three months and are walking off the job, and ongoing violence between armed groups and the Congolese military is blocking humanitarian access to affected communities.

The situation in the DRC, a vast country in central Africa and one of the world's most resource-rich yet conflict-affected nations, reflects what experts describe as an emergency layered upon multiple pre-existing emergencies. Without functioning healthcare infrastructure, community trust, adequate diagnostics, and security, even a well-resourced international response faces severe limitations. The United Nations has called on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and allow sustained humanitarian access to communities affected by both violence and disease.