The letter
Bulletin No. 129Situation as of 20 Sep 2026
Summary of the INSP bulletin, with each new release
The bulletin of 20 Sep 2026, published 21 Sep 2026, reports 61 new confirmed cases and 33 deaths. 61 cases is below the seven-day average of 67.9 a day. No new health zone since 18 Sep 2026: the outbreak remains in 63 zones across 7 provinces.
01The toll
Since the outbreak began, 7,733 confirmed cases and 3,732 deaths: 48.3% of patients have died. 1,902 people have recovered. 23 more than the day before. 821 patients are hospitalised in Ebola treatment centres. Over the past seven days, an average of 67.9 cases and 31.7 deaths a day, against 81.7 cases and 40.6 deaths the week before.
02Where
Ituri accounts for 34 of the 61 new cases. Then Nord-Kivu with 23 and Haut-Uélé with 4. The other 4 provinces report none. 5 zones carry 30 of these 61 cases: Bunia 8, Rwampara 8, Beni 6, Mangala 4 and Kalunguta 4. 49 of the 63 affected health zones reported at least one new case in the past three weeks; 14 reported none.
03Deaths
Of the 33 deaths reported today, 22 occurred in the community, that is outside a treatment centre, and 11 in a treatment centre. Deaths outside a centre: 11 in Ituri, 10 in Nord-Kivu and 1 in Haut-Uélé. Those in a treatment centre: 8 in Ituri, 2 in Nord-Kivu and 1 in Haut-Uélé.
04The response
1,764 reports of possible patients ("alerts") were received; 1,746 were checked and 318 retained as suspected cases, to be tested. Haut-Uélé and Sud-Ubangi did not send its figures. Of 395 samples tested in the laboratory, 61 were positive, that is 15.4 %. This share reaches 29.3 % in Ituri. 81.4 % 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. Ebola treatment centres are 57.7 % full: 815 patients for 1,412 beds. Beyond capacity: Nord-Kivu, 316 patients for 228 beds. Safe burials, carried out by protected teams to avoid contagion: 109 burials carried out and 102 bodies tested. The 128 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, 30 prevention rings were set up out of 67 expected, that is the disinfection of the home and the follow-up of relatives. Vaccination: 4,450 people have received the Ervebo vaccine since the campaign began on 26 Aug 2026: 3,576 in Tshopo (figure of 19 Sep 2026) and 874 in Bas-Uélé.
05The difficulties encountered
In Ituri, six treatment centres remain full on the suspected-case side, the Avakubi control point still cannot open for lack of security, and only 10 zones out of 28 report their data. In Nord-Kivu, 34% of patients are treated outside the planned facilities, no bed is free in Butembo or Katwa, and a rumour blames the vaccine for children's deaths; in Lubero, four refusals of contact listing or decontamination, only one settled. In Tshopo, two patients who escaped the treatment centre have stayed at home and ten of their contacts refuse follow-up; 352 thawed doses expire on 24 September. In Bas-Uélé, still no treatment centre and no ambulance, and roads that cannot be used.