The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has crossed the grim threshold of 1,000 deaths, with more than 2,500 cases recorded as of late July — making it the fastest-growing outbreak of the haemorrhagic virus in recorded history. The WHO has warned repeatedly that the true scale of the crisis may be significantly larger than official figures suggest, with weakened disease surveillance — partly a result of global health aid cuts over the past year — allowing the virus to spread undetected for weeks before an outbreak was formally declared on 15 May. By comparison, it took more than ten months for the 2018–2020 outbreak in eastern DRC to reach 2,000 cases; the current outbreak reached that figure far sooner. Neighbouring Uganda has reported 20 cases and two deaths, though its last confirmed patient had recovered by mid-July.

The epicentre is Ituri province, a remote region in the east of the country near the Ugandan border, which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of cases. Ebola has now been confirmed across five provinces, all in eastern DRC, a region already gripped by protracted armed conflict and deep distrust of authorities. The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines, compounding an already dire situation. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which has more than 1,400 staff on the ground running treatment centres and delivering supplies, warns that the response is failing to keep pace.