Ebola outbreak in DR Congo becomes deadliest in country’s history

A top UN official says ‘speed, scale, and solidarity’ needed ‘before this virus gets even further ahead of us’.Published On 17 Aug 202617 Aug 2026The Ebola outbreak ‌in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed 2,325 people, surpassing the death toll ⁠from the 2018-2020 outbreak ⁠to become the deadliest in the country’s history.The confirmed number of people infected with the virus has risen to 4,945, including 101 new cases detected in the previous ⁠24 hours, the DRC’s National Public Health Institute said in its latest report on Sunday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3DR Congo Ebola death toll surpasses 2,000list 2 of 3DR Congo Ebola outbreak set to become deadliest on record, WHO warnslist 3 of 3DR Congo Ebola outbreak spreads to a sixth provinceend of list“The outbreak is the fastest growing on record,” Tom Fletcher, the United Nations humanitarian chief, said in a statement on Friday. “We need speed, scale, and solidarity before this virus gets even further ahead of us.”The outbreak, the DRC’s 17th, was already the biggest in the country’s history in terms of number of cases – a milestone reached in late July. The latest government data shows that the ...