Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC becomes second-deadliest on record as US pledges more funding
The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC is now the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record: 4,053 cases and 1,850 deaths as of early August, per WHO. Transmission is intensifying and spreading. The US just pledged million more, bringing total response funding to million.
The Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has grown into the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in recorded history, and the largest ever documented within the country. As of early August, the World Health Organization reported 4,053 confirmed cases and 1,850 deaths. WHO's latest formal situation report describes intensifying transmission, rising mortality and continued geographic expansion of the outbreak across eastern DRC. The United States announced an additional $242 million for the response effort, bringing its total direct assistance to $512 million. The funding is intended to support roughly six months of response work, including healthcare facilities, disease surveillance, contact tracing, infection prevention and medical supply logistics. The scale of both the outbreak and the funding response underscores how difficult containment has become. An outbreak now ranked among the worst in Ebola's history is still expanding even as international assistance grows, a sign that the response has not yet caught up with the virus's spread across the region.