UN and WHO Say It's 'Too Early' to Call an Ebola Peak in DRC as Toll Hits 7,258 Cases, 3,510 Deaths

An ECDC Ebola outbreak tracker update published 15 September 2026, with data through 13 September, put DRC's toll at 7,258 confirmed cases and 3,510 deaths — a rise of 58 cases and 35 deaths since the 12 September report, with new cases concentrated in Ituri (44), North Kivu (12) and Haut-Uélé (2). National contact-tracing coverage fell sharply to 78.6% of identified contacts, down from 88% two days earlier, and 905 patients remained hospitalized in isolation. At a UN Geneva briefing the same day, DRC Health Minister Dr. Roger Samuel Kamba pointed to slowing daily figures — deaths down from roughly 50 to roughly 30 per day, new infections down from roughly 120 to roughly 80, and 10 of 62 affected health zones with no new case in 22-plus days — calling it 'a positive signal' that shows the response 'is beginning to bend the transmission curve.' UN Special Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis and WHO epidemiology unit head Dr. Olivier le Polain pushed back on that assessment, with Harneis saying the outbreak 'remains a deadly and a massive epidemic... in other areas, we continue to see growth in cases,' citing North Kivu, where weekly case counts have doubled from roughly 100 to 200 in the latest three-week period. Le Polain said it is 'too early to confidently say we have passed a peak.' Harneis also warned the $1.3 billion, 180-day response plan is only 49% funded and that a further $1 billion will be needed to sustain operations beyond the first six months, while the broader $2.1 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan remains 55% unfunded.