71 new cases, 41 deaths

02 Where

Ituri accounts for 40 of the 71 new cases. Then Nord-Kivu with 27 and Haut-Uélé with 4. The other 5 provinces report none. 5 zones carry 44 of these 71 cases: Mandima 18, Bunia 9, Beni 9, Nizi 4 and Butembo 4. In Beni, the cumulative count goes from 553 to 552 cases although the bulletin reports 9 new cases there: the site shows its figures as published. 51 of the 66 affected health zones reported at least one new case in the past three weeks; 15 reported none.

03 Deaths

Of the 41 deaths reported today, 23 occurred in the community, that is outside a treatment centre, and 18 in a treatment centre. Deaths outside a centre: 13 in Ituri, 8 in Nord-Kivu and 2 in Haut-Uélé. Those in a treatment centre: 14 in Ituri and 4 in Nord-Kivu.

04 The response

3,210 reports of possible patients ("alerts") were received; 3,176 were checked and 481 retained as suspected cases, to be tested. Sud-Ubangi and Nord-Ubangi did not send its figures. Of 580 samples tested in the laboratory, 71 were positive, that is 12.3 %. This share reaches 17.4 % in Haut-Uélé. 84.8 % 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 hold 67 patients per 100 beds: 976 patients for 1,461 beds. Beyond capacity: Nord-Kivu, 468 patients for 410 beds. Safe burials, carried out by protected teams to avoid contagion: 76 deaths reported, 117 burials carried out, 115 bodies tested. 4 bodies could not be tested because families objected. Around new cases, 58 prevention rings were set up out of 97 expected, that is the disinfection of the home and the follow-up of relatives. Vaccination: 8,953 people have received the Ervebo vaccine since the campaign began on 26 Aug 2026: 4,953 in Tshopo (figure of 27 Sep 2026), 1,500 in Bas-Uélé (figure of 9 Oct 2026), 1,311 in Ituri, 600 in Nord-Kivu (figure of 20 Oct 2026) and 589 in Haut-Uélé (figure of 19 Oct 2026). Since the previous bulletin, 191 more in Ituri, over six days. At control points on roads and at borders, 306,973 travellers passed through and 98.2 % had a temperature check.

05 The difficulties encountered

In Ituri, 20 of 70 bodies could not be swabbed, 23 safe and dignified burials failed, 2 of 3 suspected cases refused transfer and 18 of the 37 most recent confirmed cases are waiting for psychosocial support. In Nord-Kivu, 45 safe burials have been postponed, 137 of 468 patients are being treated outside treatment centres, beds for suspected cases are 90.1% occupied and the Butuhe checkpoint has been closed since 26 September. In Haut-Uélé, 2 of 10 checkpoints did not send their data for lack of network and one body could not be swabbed in Wamba because of resistance. In Tshopo, 5 confirmed patients are still at large in the community and chlorine stocks are critical (25 kg of the 1,800 required). In Bas-Uélé, no safe burial was carried out, 86 suspected cases are isolated without nutritional support and vaccination has not started in Ango or Bili. In Sud-Kivu, entry points send only 55.6% of their data and have no isolation facility.

The full “Challenges” page →