GENEVA, Switzerland — The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the largest ever recorded in the country, with more than 11,000 confirmed cases and more than 5,000 deaths, United Nations responders reported.
Read the UN release: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/11/1168797
The outbreak was declared in May 2026 and continues to spread in the country's east and northeast provinces, according to the release.
About 400 to 500 new infections are still being identified every week, officials reported.
Weekly Infections, Rural Spread, and Falling Hotspots
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, said transmission has fallen significantly in previous hotspots, according to the release.
Those hotspots include Bunia, Mongbwalu, Rampara and Nizi, all in Ituri province in eastern DRC, officials reported.
New cases are now emerging in rural and hard-to-reach areas, according to the release.
UN Senior Ebola Response Coordinator Julien Harneis said more people are being killed by Allied Democratic Forces fighters than by Ebola in recent days, officials reported.
Attacks on Villages, Health Workers, and Treatment Centres
WHO condemned attacks earlier this week against frontline healthcare workers and community awareness officers, according to the release.
In Cantine-Aloya in North Kivu, an attack killed 66 civilians including three health workers, officials reported. Three health facilities were also looted.
Two weeks ago, a nurse was killed and another health worker was badly injured while responding to an Ebola alert in Tshopo province, according to the release.
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Other attacks have included an arson attempt on a treatment centre and stones thrown at a vehicle used for safe and dignified burials, officials reported.
"People are scared, people are furious at the lack of action on this," Mr. Harneis said, according to the release.
"We've seen so many attacks on healthcare, attacks on communities as well, attacks on people providing care, and people losing their lives," Dr Ihekweazu said, according to the release.
Hunger, Displacement, and a Wider Humanitarian Emergency
The UN World Food Programme warned that nearly 29 million people in the DRC face acute food insecurity, according to the release.
Most of those people are in the conflict and Ebola-affected eastern and northeastern provinces, officials reported.
UN-backed assessments cited in the release project 30.3 million people will be in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse between January and June 2027.
Of that number, 4.2 million people are projected to face emergency levels of hunger, with the most acute needs in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces, according to the release.
"What we need right now is access, and we need resources to avoid the situation becoming more difficult in the DRC," said Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis, according to the release.
Responders said they will keep working with communities in the affected provinces, and WHO and UN officials said access and resources are needed as the response continues.
Anyone seeking official updates on the outbreak is asked to follow the United Nations and the World Health Organization through their official channels.
Sources
United Nations, Official News Release, November 13, 2026: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/11/1168797
Transparency notes
Published: Nov 13, 2026. No major post-publication update has been logged.
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