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Tuesday, October 13, 2026

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Safety · Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Congo's Ebola count nears 9,000 confirmed cases; Kenya says the contacts of its one case are healthy so far

Added 7:51 a.m. ET, Oct. 13

The File desk · Oct 13, 2026, 11:51 AM UTC

Status

Confirmed as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's Ebola page, last updated Oct. 12, 2026, and as the World Health Organization's Oct. 8 Disease Outbreak News for the risk rating. Congo's numbers are the centre's account of figures through Oct. 10. Kenya's contact count is the centre's account of what the Cabinet Secretary for Health said on Oct. 11. The centre says Congo's figures are under continuous review.

  • Confirmed

    The European centre says that as of Oct. 11 the Democratic Republic of the Congo had reported 8,978 confirmed cases, including 4,336 deaths, from data through Oct. 10. It also reports 945 patients hospitalized in isolation and 2,356 people recovered (page last updated Oct. 12).

  • Confirmed

    On Oct. 10, 64 new confirmed cases and 21 deaths were reported: Ituri 30, North Kivu 25, Haut-Uélé 7, and Tshopo 2. Ituri has 6,639 cases and 3,074 deaths. 65 of 167 health zones in seven provinces are affected. 81 percent of identified contacts are under follow-up.

  • Confirmed

    On Oct. 11, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health said 108 of the 122 listed contacts of the country's first case are in quarantine and have not developed symptoms.

  • Confirmed

    The World Health Organization's Oct. 8 update rates the risk very high in Congo, high in neighboring countries, and low globally. The European centre says the risk of importation into the European Union and the European Economic Area remains very low.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has recorded 8,978 confirmed Ebola cases, including 4,336 deaths, through Oct. 10, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in an update posted Monday. That is up from the 8,728 cases and 4,205 deaths in the World Health Organization count this site reported on Oct. 9. Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health said 108 of 122 contacts of the country's one case are in quarantine, and none has developed symptoms. The centre says Congo's figures are still under review.

The European centre's page was last updated on Oct. 12. It says that as of Oct. 11, Congo had reported 8,978 confirmed cases, including 4,336 deaths, from data through Oct. 10. It also reports 945 patients hospitalized in isolation, and 2,356 people who have recovered.

On Oct. 10 alone, the centre says, Congo reported 64 new confirmed cases and 21 deaths. Ituri had 30 of the new cases, North Kivu 25, Haut-Uélé 7, and Tshopo 2.

Ituri remains the hardest hit province, with 6,639 cases and 3,074 deaths. The outbreak has reached 65 of 167 health zones in seven provinces. The centre says 81 percent of identified contacts are under follow-up. It also says Congo's figures on cases and deaths are under continuous review and harmonization.

Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health said on Oct. 11 that 108 of the 122 listed contacts of the country's first case are in quarantine, and that none has developed symptoms. That case was a Kenyan who had lived in Congo, traveled through Uganda, reached Nairobi on Oct. 3, and died. This site's Oct. 9 story reported the death. Follow-up of the contacts is still going.

The World Health Organization's Oct. 8 update, already cited on this site, rates the risk very high in Congo, high in neighboring countries, and low globally. The European centre says the risk of the virus being carried into the European Union or the European Economic Area remains very low.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

    European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control · October 12, 2026

    reported a total of 8 978 confirmed cases, including 4 336 related deaths (from data up until 10 October).

    https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/ebola-outbreak-democratic-republic-congo-and-uganda

  2. Source 2

    Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus - Democratic Republic of the Congo (Disease Outbreak News)

    World Health Organization · October 8, 2026

    As of 6 October 2026, the country has recorded 8728 confirmed cases and 4205 confirmed deaths, corresponding to a crude case fatality ratio (CFR) of 48.2%.

    https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON619