52 new cases, 32 deaths

02 Where

Ituri accounts for 31 of the 52 new cases. Then Nord-Kivu with 16, Tshopo with 3 and Haut-Uélé with 2. The other 4 provinces report none. 5 zones carry 33 of these 52 cases: Bunia 12, Mandima 10, Mabalako 6, Mambasa 3 and Nizi 2. 46 of the 66 affected health zones reported at least one new case in the past three weeks; 20 reported none.

03 Deaths

Of the 32 deaths reported today, 20 occurred in the community, that is outside a treatment centre, and 12 in a treatment centre. Deaths outside a centre: 12 in Ituri, 7 in Nord-Kivu and 1 in Haut-Uélé. Those in a treatment centre: 7 in Ituri, 4 in Nord-Kivu and 1 in Haut-Uélé.

04 The response

3,990 reports of possible patients ("alerts") were received; 3,724 were checked and 632 retained as suspected cases, to be tested. Sud-Ubangi and Nord-Ubangi did not send their figures. Of 474 samples tested in the laboratory, 52 were positive, that is 11.0 %. 85.4 % of the people who had been close to a patient (the "contacts") were seen by follow-up teams. Fewer than three contacts in four were seen in the following provinces: Tshopo. Ebola treatment centres hold 36 patients per 100 beds: 381 patients for 1,051 beds. Safe burials, carried out by protected teams to avoid contagion: 164 deaths reported, 100 burials carried out, 119 bodies tested. Vaccination: 9,540 people have received the Ervebo vaccine since the campaign began on 26 Aug 2026: 4,953 in Tshopo (figure of 27 Sep 2026), 1,785 in Bas-Uélé, 1,613 in Ituri (figure of 24 Oct 2026), 600 in Nord-Kivu (figure of 20 Oct 2026) and 589 in Haut-Uélé (figure of 19 Oct 2026). Since the previous bulletin, 50 more in Bas-Uélé.

05 The difficulties encountered

In Ituri, 3 of 5 suspected cases could not be transferred from the Mandima and Nizi checkpoints, for lack of an ambulance or because of refusals, 16 safe burials failed and 37 patients are in critical condition. In Nord-Kivu, treatment centres are almost full (88.5%), 160 patients are being treated outside them, none of the 22 targeted households received a hygiene kit and the Butuhe checkpoint has remained closed since the security incident of 26 September. In Tshopo, the health workers' strike and assaults on teams are disrupting contact follow-up, 2 confirmed patients escaped in Bafwasende and 9 of 10 bodies were not sampled. In Bas-Uélé, 16 of 20 priority facilities have no working triage and vaccination remains almost nil in Bili (0 of 1,067). In Haut-Uélé, vaccination of frontline health workers has stopped because the Isiro generator broke down, supervisors refuse to work because they have not been paid and nutritional supplies are lacking.

The full “Challenges” page →