---
title: "Congo’s Ebola Death Toll Passes 5,000 With No Approved Vaccine or Treatment"
description: "The outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, has infected more than 10,000 people and reached eight of Congo’s 26 provinces."
author: "rews desk"
published: 2026-10-31T02:51:52Z
modified: 2026-10-31T03:59:23Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/congo-s-ebola-death-toll-passes-5-000-with-no-approved-vacci-4a617d
language: en
tags: ["ebola", "health", "drc", "travel", "nigeria", "africa"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---

# Congo’s Ebola Death Toll Passes 5,000 With No Approved Vaccine or Treatment

*The outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, has infected more than 10,000 people and reached eight of Congo’s 26 provinces.*

By rews desk · October 31, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/congo-s-ebola-death-toll-passes-5-000-with-no-approved-vacci-4a617d

## In brief

- Congo’s Ebola death toll passed 5,000, according to government figures released on Friday
- The Bundibugyo strain outbreak, declared May 15, has infected more than 10,000 people in eight of 26 provinces
- Deaths rose from 4,381 on Oct. 13 to 4,887 on Oct. 27, government data showed
- Nigeria became the fourth African country to report a case last week, after Congo, Kenya and Uganda
- Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and from Kenya, and Uganda ordered 21-day quarantines for returnees from Congo

More than 5,000 people have now died in Congo’s Ebola outbreak, according to government figures released on Friday, the deadliest the country has recorded and one that health workers are fighting without an approved vaccine or drug.

The outbreak was declared on May 15. It is caused by Bundibugyo, a rare strain of the virus, and has infected more than 10,000 people across eight of Congo’s 26 provinces, [Al Jazeera reported](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/31/ebola-death-toll-in-dr-congo-passes-5000), citing government data and Reuters. Authorities still haven’t found a way to bring it under control.

The count has climbed steadily all month. The toll [passed 4,000 at the start of October](https://rews.cc/a/congo-s-largest-ebola-outbreak-tops-4-000-deaths-but-officia-adbf32). On Oct. 13 the Health Ministry reported 9,066 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths, [The Washington Post reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/10/13/congo-ebola-death-toll-latest/8e66fb5a-c72c-11f1-aefb-abe4112d087e_story.html). By Oct. 27, government data showed 10,060 confirmed cases and 4,887 deaths, [according to Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/27/ebola-cases-in-dr-congo-surpass-10000-in-fastest-growing-outbreak).

That’s more than 600 deaths in under three weeks.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, in [its latest update](https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/ebola-outbreak-democratic-republic-congo-and-uganda), put Congo at 10,274 confirmed cases and 4,992 deaths as of Oct. 29, using data through Oct. 28. By those numbers, nearly half of confirmed patients have died.

Late detection, armed conflict and overstretched health services have let the virus move faster than in earlier outbreaks, Al Jazeera reported.

It has also crossed borders. Last week Nigeria became the fourth African country to report a case, carrying the outbreak into West Africa. Kenya and Uganda reported cases earlier, including [Kenya’s first Ebola death](https://rews.cc/a/the-fever-crosses-the-border-kenya-confirms-its-first-ebola--dd223e) this month. The ECDC said the outbreak in Uganda has since ended.

Governments are responding with travel limits. Uganda has ordered citizens returning from Congo to quarantine for 21 days. On Friday, Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and from Kenya, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Saudi citizens may not travel there, visas for Kenyan travelers are on hold and anyone who has been in Kenya or another affected country in the previous 21 days is barred from entry, including people who passed through third countries. In June, Saudi Arabia imposed similar suspensions on Congo, Uganda and South Sudan.

It is the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record. Only the 2014-16 epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone was larger, with more than 28,600 people infected and more than 11,000 killed.