Laboratory samples tested on September 3 at the country’s National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa confirmed the cause of the outbreak as Ebola Zaire, the most lethal strain of the virus.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has declared a fresh outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease in Kasai Province, with at least 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four health workers, recorded as of September 4, 2025.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the outbreak has struck Bulape and Mweka health zones, where patients presented with “symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and haemorrhage.”
Laboratory samples tested on September 3 at the country’s National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa confirmed the cause of the outbreak as Ebola Zaire, the most lethal strain of the virus.
WHO said a national Rapid Response Team, joined by its own experts in epidemiology, infection prevention and control, laboratory, and case management, has already been deployed to Kasai to strengthen surveillance and treatment.
Risk communication experts are also on the ground “to reach communities and help them understand how to protect themselves.”
In addition, WHO has dispatched two tonnes of medical supplies, including personal protective equipment and mobile laboratory kits, to support the response.
However, the agency warned that the outbreak area is extremely difficult to access, requiring at least a day of driving from the provincial capital Tshikapa, with “few air links” available.
Dr. Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, vowed that the agency and Congolese health authorities were racing against time to contain the spread.
“We’re acting with determination to rapidly halt the spread of the virus and protect communities,” he 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.”
WHO warned that “case numbers are likely to increase as the transmission is ongoing,” adding that local teams are tracing potential contacts and ensuring suspected cases receive care quickly.
The DRC is banking on its stockpile of treatments and 2,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine, which is effective against this strain and already prepositioned in Kinshasa.
WHO said the vaccines would be swiftly moved to Kasai to protect frontline health workers and those at highest risk.
This is not the first time Kasai has faced Ebola. The province suffered deadly outbreaks in 2007 and 2008.
Nationally, the DRC has endured 15 Ebola outbreaks since the disease was first discovered there in 1976, with the most recent in Equateur Province in April 2022, which was brought under control in under three months.
Ebola virus disease is a “rare but severe, often fatal illness in humans,” according to the WHO.
It is transmitted through close contact with blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as fruit bats, believed to be the natural hosts, as well as human-to-human transmission through direct contact with fluids from infected or deceased patients.
The declaration of this outbreak has heightened fears of a wider spread, with the WHO warning that swift and coordinated action will be key to preventing another major Ebola crisis in Central Africa.