Suspected Ebola cases in DR Congo outbreak jump to more than 900

The number of suspected Ebola cases has jumped to more than 900 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where authorities are struggling to contain an outbreak.

Congolese authorities said suspected cases had risen to 904 in the east of the country, mainly in Ituri Province, where the ongoing outbreak is centred - up from the previous number of around 750.

The Congolese Ministry of Communication also said the total suspected Ebola deaths stood at 119, but the numbers it released separately for each region added up to 220. Officials could not immediately be reached to explain the discrepancy.

The Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment, and the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has declared a public health emergency of international concern, says the risk of a national epidemic in the ​DRC is "very high".

The country is particularly vulnerable because of late detection, the absence ⁠of a vaccine or virus-specific therapeutics, widespread armed violence and high mobility among the population, the organisation said.

Most of the suspected and confirmed cases so far have occurred in Ituri, where nearly a million people are displaced amid conflict.

Eastern Congo has seen attacks by dozens of separate rebel and militant groups for years, some of them with links to foreign countries or the Islamic State group.

While the Congolese government still has tenuous control over most of the northeastern Ituri Province, the Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan Islamist group linked to IS, is one of the dominant rebel groups there and responsible for violent attacks against civilian targets.

Before the outbreak, humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders said that the insecurity in Ituri had worsened, causing doctors and nurses to flee and leaving overwhelmed health facilities and in some parts, "catastrophic conditions".

On top of the shortage of medical personnel, the fact that so many people are displaced is leading to concerns the disease could spread through large displacement camps.

The outbreak is "unfolding in communities already facing insecurity, displacement and fragile health care systems", said Gabriela Arenas, a regional coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

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The WHO said Ugandan authorities have stepped up ​contact tracing to contain the spread.

But health experts say international aid cuts last year by the US and other rich nations were devastating for eastern Congo, and aid groups fighting the outbreak on the ground say they don't have the equipment they need, such as face shields and suits to protect health workers from infection, testing kits, body bags and other materials needed to safely bury the bodies of victims, which can be highly contagious.

Adding to the pressure on local authorities are recent attacks on Ebola treatment centres.

Congolese authorities said young men stormed a hospital treating patients in the town of Mongbwalu in Ituri on Saturday, demanding that two bodies of their kin be handed over to them.

They were forced to evacuate Ebola patients as gunfire rang out, according to the hospital's director, Dr Richard Lokudu. It came days after people set fire to two treatment centres in eastern towns.

Scientists from the University of Oxford are among those working to develop a new vaccine which could be used to combat the outbreak - but the WHO says none will be available for at least six to nine months.

(c) Sky News 2026: Suspected Ebola cases in DR Congo outbreak jump to more than 900