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DR CONGO · HEALTH

Congo’s Ebola outbreak has passed 10,000 confirmed cases, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the national public health agency, counts 10,305 cases and 4,996 deaths across all affected countries as of 28 October 2026. Nearly half of the confirmed patients have died, and the count is still rising.

For US readers, the numbers explain why Washington bars flights from Congo, and why the CDC tells Americans to avoid all travel to two Congolese provinces. This report gives the overall picture, while our earlier pieces cover Bunia, the Comoros and Togo.

File photo. Bunia, the capital of Ituri, the Congolese province hit hardest by Ebola. Photo: Rio Times archive.

What Happened

The CDC’s situation summary, updated on Friday 30 October 2026, lists 10,274 confirmed cases and 4,992 deaths in Congo as of 28 October. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 9,704 confirmed cases in Congo as of 20 October, so about 570 cases were added in eight days.

Congo’s cases spanned 66 health zones in eight provinces as of 20 October, according to the WHO. Outside Congo, the CDC lists nine cases and two deaths in Kenya, one case in Nigeria, 20 cases in Uganda, and one case in France.

This week, Africa CDC announced the death of Dr Marie-France Shogogo, a young doctor who caught the virus while treating patients in Beni, a city in North Kivu province. Africa CDC used the death to call for better protection of front-line health workers.

The Doctor Who Died in Beni

Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya announced the death of Dr Shogogo on social media this week. Local reports date her death to Wednesday 28 October at an Ebola treatment centre in Beni, but Africa CDC has not given a date in the statements we could check.

Health workers are among the most exposed in an outbreak with no approved vaccine or treatment. Each death also removes trained staff from a response that needs every one of them.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket, an online prediction market, gives 2.6% to the WHO calling Ebola a pandemic in 2026, with US$808,211 traded as of 3:30 in the afternoon, Eastern time, on Friday 30 October 2026. A separate Polymarket contract on which countries will report an Ebola case in 2026 gives South Sudan 35.0% and Somalia 29.5%, with US$76,175 traded.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What It Means for You

The CDC rates the risk to the American public and to travelers as low, and no Ebola case linked to this outbreak has been reported in the United States. Its notices run from Level 4, avoid all travel, for Ituri and North Kivu provinces, to Level 3 for Haut-Uele and Tshopo, Level 2 for the rest of Congo and Uganda, and Level 1 for Kenya.

Travelers who were in Congo within 21 days cannot board commercial flights to the United States, and Americans who were there should stay outside Congo for 21 days before entering. From 11:59 pm Eastern time on Tuesday 3 November 2026, every passenger on an international flight to the US must also state that they were not in Congo in the last 21 days, as we explain in Kinshasa Day Trip Bars US Flights 21 Days.

What Is Not Known

Official counts leave out probable and suspected cases, so the true size of the outbreak is larger than 10,305. It is not known how many health workers have died in Congo, and Africa CDC has not published a date for Dr Shogogo’s death.

The WHO says its risk assessment is being revised, and no vaccine is approved for Bundibugyo, although clinical trials are under way. Local sources speak of other doctors dying in Beni, but we could not confirm that and have not reported it.

More: DR Congo news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Ebola Cases Are There in Congo?

The CDC lists 10,274 confirmed cases and 4,992 deaths in Congo as of 28 October 2026. Across all affected countries the totals are 10,305 cases and 4,996 deaths.

Can Americans Travel to Congo?

The CDC says to avoid all travel to Ituri and North Kivu and to reconsider nonessential travel to Haut-Uele and Tshopo. Anyone in Congo within 21 days cannot board a US-bound commercial flight.

Is There an Ebola Vaccine?

No vaccine or treatment is approved for the Bundibugyo virus behind this outbreak, according to the WHO. Clinical trials are under way.

Sources: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ebola Outbreak: Current Situation, updated 30 October 2026; World Health Organization, Disease Outbreak News, Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus, 23 October 2026; Africa CDC, statement by Director-General Jean Kaseya, 29-30 October 2026; European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Bundibugyo Ebola update, 28 October 2026; Polymarket, Ebola pandemic in 2026 market, 30 October 2026.

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