DRC Case Count Reaches 5,713 as CFR Climbs to Nearly 48%, ECDC Tracker Shows

ECDC's Ebola outbreak tracker, updated 26 August 2026 with data through 25 August, recorded 5,713 confirmed DRC cases and 2,744 deaths — a single-day increase of 57 cases and 29 deaths — with 770 patients hospitalized in isolation, 1,269 recovered, and 84.6% of identified contacts under active follow-up. Ituri province remained the epicenter with 4,750 cases and 2,133 deaths across 28 of 36 health zones, followed by North Kivu (753 cases/512 deaths), Haut-Uélé (189/89), Tshopo (15/8), South Kivu (3/1) and Bas-Uélé (3/1) — 58 of DRC's 151 health zones now affected across six provinces. A Forbes analysis published 27 August by epidemiologist John Drake put the crude CFR at nearly 48% (up from 45.6% earlier in the outbreak), cited 160 healthcare-worker infections with 44 deaths (~29% CFR), and estimated true infections could be running 8,600-10,300 given case-detection gaps, while arguing the outbreak — despite record scale — remains controllable with adequate resources, citing Uganda's successful containment of the same strain.