Glossary

The words used in the bulletins and on this site, as they are used here. Fifteen entries, from confirmed case to situation report.

Confirmed case

A person whose infection is established by a laboratory test. Only confirmed cases are counted on this site.

Probable case

A patient or deceased person who showed signs of the disease and had a link to a confirmed case, without a tested sample.

Suspected case

A person whose symptoms suggest Ebola, awaiting a test. Becomes confirmed, probable or ruled out.

Alert

A report of a suspected case or death to be checked. It is “validated” when it meets the suspected-case definition.

Contact

A person exposed to a patient: family, carer, neighbour. They are followed for 21 days, the maximum incubation period.

Contact follow-up

The share of contacts actually seen each day by the teams. WHO aims for 95%; in the DRC the rate hovers around 85%.

Community death

The death of a confirmed case outside a treatment centre, at home or on the way. It signals a patient the response did not reach in time.

ETC

Ebola treatment centre: the facility where patients are isolated and cared for. “Patients in isolation” means the patients who are there.

Recovered

A patient discharged from an ETC after two negative tests 48 hours apart.

Case fatality

The share of confirmed cases who have died. It is calculated on cumulative totals since the start of the outbreak.

Health zone

The basic unit of the Congolese health system, 519 for the whole country. Each zone is divided into health areas.

Epicentre

The zone where the outbreak starts and where it is concentrated. In 2026, Bunia and Ituri.

Bundibugyo

One of the ebolavirus species, distinct from the Zaire species of previous outbreaks. No licensed vaccine targets it.

Safe and dignified burial

A burial carried out by a trained team, because the body of a deceased person remains contagious.

SitRep

The daily situation report of the INSP, the main source of this site. Each bulletin has a number.