Ebola reaches seventh province in DR Congo as government says cases are declining

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s ongoing Ebola outbreak has expanded to a seventh province after health officials confirmed that a man who had traveled through Rwanda and Uganda tested positive for the virus. The patient, who was initially treated in a border clinic before being transferred to a treatment center in the capital, is believed to have contracted the disease in the eastern region before moving westward, prompting authorities to trace his movements across three countries and issue alerts to neighboring health facilities.

The newly affected province joins the six previously confirmed zones—North Kivu, Ituri, South Kivu, Tanganyika, Haut-Uélé and Bas-Uélé—bringing the total to 1.2 million residents at risk. The Ministry of Health, in coordination with the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, has deployed rapid response teams, intensified contact tracing, and reinforced border screenings to curb further spread. Officials emphasized that the cross‑border transmission underscores the need for regional cooperation, and they pledged continued surveillance and vaccination campaigns as the outbreak enters its third month.