The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is shifting, with transmission easing in its long-time epicenter of Ituri but rising rapidly in North Kivu, where treatment facilities face a 94.7 percent bed occupancy rate with 373 patients hospitalized.
As of Tuesday, the DRC reported 7,404 confirmed cases, 3,577 deaths-representing a 48.3 percent fatality rate-and 1,776 recoveries. Spanning 62 health zones across seven provinces, Ituri remains the primary epicenter, accounting for 77.7 percent of cases.
National Institute of Biomedical Research head Jean-Jacques Muyembe noted that Ituri has passed its peak, whereas North Kivu remains a growing hotspot. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited encouraging signs in Ituri, but warned that weekly cases in North Kivu doubled from 100 to over 200, describing the situation as "many outbreaks, in many places".
This outbreak is the deadliest in DRC history and the world's second-largest after the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic.