Ebola outbreak in DRC’s Kasai Province kills 16, health workers among victims
In a statement on Thursday, the DRC Ministry of Public Health reported 28 suspected cases, including four health workers who died while treating patients.
At least 16 people have died in Kasai Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), following an Ebola virus disease outbreak, health authorities have confirmed.
In a statement on Thursday, the DRC Ministry of Public Health reported 28 suspected cases, including four health workers who died while treating patients. The outbreak has been detected in the Bulape and Mweka health zones, with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, and haemorrhage.
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Tests conducted on samples collected on September 3, 2025, at the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in Kinshasa confirmed Ebola Zaire as the cause.
“The index case was a 34-year-old pregnant woman admitted to HGR Bulape on August 20, 2025. She exhibited sudden fever, bloody diarrhoea, multiple haemorrhages, vomiting and extreme physical weakness,” the Ministry said.
“She died on August 25, due to multi-organ failure. Transmission within the hospital affected an attending nurse and a laboratory technician, both of whom later died.”
To curb the outbreak, a national rapid response team has been deployed, joined by World Health Organisation (WHO) experts in epidemiology, infection prevention, laboratory work, and case management. Provincial specialists are also engaging communities to raise awareness of protective measures.
Affected areas remote
WHO has delivered two tonnes of medical supplies, including personal protective equipment and mobile laboratory kits. The organisation noted that the affected areas are remote, requiring a day’s drive from Tshikapa, the provincial capital, with limited air access.
“We’re acting with determination to rapidly halt the spread of the virus and protect communities,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Mohamed Janabi said.
“Banking on the country’s long-standing expertise in controlling viral disease outbreaks, we’re working closely with the health authorities to quickly scale up key response measures to end the outbreak as soon as possible.”
Monitoring contacts
Authorities have warned that case numbers may rise as transmission continues, but said response teams are actively tracing and monitoring contacts to ensure rapid care and containment.
The DRC has stockpiled treatments and 2,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine, prepositioned in Kinshasa, which will be moved to Kasai to vaccinate contacts and frontline health workers.
The country’s last Ebola outbreak occurred in Equateur Province in April 2022 and was controlled in under three months. Kasai Province previously recorded outbreaks in 2007 and 2008, while the DRC has faced 15 outbreaks since 1976.
Ebola virus disease is a rare but often fatal illness spread through close contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated objects. According to the WHO, fruit bats are believed to be the natural hosts, with human-to-human transmission occurring through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of infected individuals.
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