The letter
Bulletin No. 095Situation as of 17 Aug 2026
Summary of the INSP bulletin, with each new release
84 new cases, 42 deaths
The bulletin of 17 Aug 2026, published 18 Aug 2026, reports 84 new confirmed cases and 42 deaths. 84 cases is below the seven-day average of 93.7 a day. No new health zone since 15 Aug 2026: the outbreak remains in 55 zones across 6 provinces.
Since the outbreak began, 5,105 confirmed cases and 2,420 deaths: 47.4% of patients have died. 1,091 people have recovered. 30 more than the day before. 782 patients are hospitalised in Ebola treatment centres. Over the past seven days, an average of 93.7 cases and 51.3 deaths a day, against 82.1 cases and 44.3 deaths the week before.
02 Where
Ituri accounts for 52 of the 84 new cases. Then Nord-Kivu with 26 and Haut-Uélé with 6. The other 3 provinces report none. 5 zones carry 53 of these 84 cases: Bunia 20, Katwa 15, Rwampara 7, Butembo 6 and Nia-Nia 5. 47 of the 55 affected health zones reported at least one new case in the past three weeks; 8 reported none.
03 Deaths
Of the 42 deaths reported today, 29 occurred in the community, that is outside a treatment centre, and 13 in a treatment centre. Deaths outside a centre: 25 in Ituri, 3 in Nord-Kivu and 1 in Haut-Uélé. Those in a treatment centre: 12 in Ituri and 1 in Haut-Uélé. The 12 in Ituri have not yet been assigned to a specific health zone, like 148 deaths before them.
04 The response
1,654 reports of possible patients ("alerts") were received; 1,239 were checked and 394 retained as suspected cases, to be tested. 84.1 % of the people who had been close to a patient (the "contacts") were seen by follow-up teams, below the 85% threshold the INSP has set itself. Fewer than three contacts in four were seen in the following provinces: Bas-Uélé and Haut-Uélé. Ebola treatment centres hold 55 patients per 100 beds: 700 patients for 1,280 beds. Safe burials, carried out by protected teams to avoid contagion: 122 burials carried out and 114 bodies tested. The 85 deaths reported do not come from the same provinces: not all of them publish these figures, and the three numbers are not comparable. Around new cases, 7 prevention rings were set up out of 152 expected, that is the disinfection of the home and the follow-up of relatives.
05 The difficulties encountered
In Haut-Uélé, beds for confirmed cases are saturated at 400% in Wamba and 216% in Isiro, the centres lack water, electricity and sanitation, a pregnant woman miscarried at the Pawa centre, only 11 entry points are active out of 38 priority ones, six control points are on strike for lack of pay, 58 travellers refused the temperature check, and a family in Isiro took a body away and refused the investigators. In Ituri, the Bambu and Nizi centres are saturated for confirmed cases, Fataki, Kilo, Logo, Nia-Nia and Kigonze for suspected cases, only 7 prevention rings were opened out of 152 expected, an ambulance is broken down in Bambu, refusals of safe burial are reported in Nyankunde, Mongbwalu, Komanda, Aru and Nia-Nia, and relays in Nizi and Nyankunde no longer make visits for lack of pay. In Nord-Kivu, the Kitatumba and Katwa centres and the Musienene isolation unit are saturated, at 103.5% of beds for suspected cases, 2,383 travellers refused the temperature check, 7 community incidents remain unresolved in Musienene, and the disinfection teams of Butembo, Beni, Katwa and Musienene are claiming their pay for June and July. In Bas-Uélé, the Buta centre lacks space and water, no ambulance is dedicated to the response, and a body was removed without precautions, preventing a safe burial. Only 8 of Ituri’s 28 affected zones and 2 in Nord-Kivu pass on residents’ concerns.