Democratic Republic of the Congo declares Ebola virus disease outbreak in Kasai Province
By Hope Mafaranga
Kinshasa – Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Kasai Province where 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four health workers, have been reported as of 4 September 2025.
The outbreak has affected Bulape and Mweka health zones in Kasai Province where health officials have been carrying out investigations after the cases and the deaths reported presented with symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and haemorrhage. Samples tested on 3 September at the country’s National Institute of Biomedical Research in the capital Kinshasa confirmed the cause of the outbreak as Ebola Zaire caused by Ebola virus disease.
A national Rapid Response Team joined by World Health Organization (WHO) experts in epidemiology, infection prevention and control, laboratory and case management has been deployed to Kasai Province to rapidly strengthen disease surveillance, treatment and infection prevention and control in health facilities. Provincial risk communication experts have also been deployed to reach communities and help them understand how to protect themselves.
Additionally, WHO is delivering two tonnes of supplies including personal protective equipment, mobile laboratory equipment and medical supplies. The area is difficult to reach, taking at least one day of driving from Tshikapa (the provincial capital of Kasai), with few air links.
“We’re acting with determination to rapidly halt the spread of the virus and protect communities,” said Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Banking on the country’s long-standing expertise in controlling viral disease outbreaks, we’re working closely with the health authorities to quickly scale up key response measures to end the outbreak as soon as possible.”
Case numbers are likely to increase as the transmission is ongoing. Response teams and local teams will work to find the people who may be infected and need to receive care, to ensure everyone is protected as quickly as possible.
The country has a stockpile of treatments, as well as 2000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine, effective to protect against this type of Ebola, already prepositioned in Kinshasa that will be quickly moved to Kasai to vaccinate contacts and frontline health workers.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s last outbreak of Ebola virus disease affected the north-western Equateur province in April 2022. It was brought under control in under three months thanks to the robust efforts of the health authorities. In Kasai province, previous outbreaks of Ebola virus disease were reported in 2007 and 2008. In the country overall, there have been 15 outbreaks since the disease was first identified in 1976.
Ebola virus disease is a rare but severe, often fatal illness in humans. It is transmitted to people through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as fruit bats (thought to be the natural hosts). Human-to-human transmission is through direct contact with blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola, objects that have been contaminated with body fluids from a person sick with Ebola or the body of a person who died from Ebola.
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