Ebola Vaccination Campaign Launched in DR Congo as 16th Outbreak Escalates
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo – September 16, 2025 – A vaccination campaign is underway in the Bulape health zone of the Democratic republic of the Congo as health officials race to contain the country’s 16th Ebola outbreak. The outbreak, declared recently, has already seen confirmed cases rise to 25, with new infections detected as far as 70 km from the initial epicenter, raising concerns about wider spread.
according to Dr. Jean-Pierre Ngongo, a health official involved in the response, the suspected cases have spread to four health zones, up from two at the beginning of the outbreak. “It was two, now it is four,” Ngongo stated, describing the epidemic “a major threat to national health systems.” The outbreak’s epicenter is located near tshikapa, the capital of Kasai Province, approximately 100 to 200 km from the Angolan border. Frequent population movements between Bulape and Tshikapa are increasing the risk of further transmission.
Whole genome sequencing indicates this outbreak is a new zoonotic spillover event, distinct from previous outbreaks in the same region in 2007 and 2008.The fragile health infrastructure in neighboring Sankuru Province, which borders Bulape, could further complicate containment efforts.
Patrick Otim, a WHO Regional Office for Africa official, told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 12th, that bringing the outbreak under control within the next two weeks is “possible but could be challenging.”
Epidemiological investigations are ongoing to identify transmission chains and the source of the infection.The WHO currently assesses the public health risk as high at the national level, moderate at the regional level, and low at the global level.
The DRC previously declared the end of an Ebola outbreak in September 2022,following a single confirmed case in North Kivu province,which was genetically linked to the devastating 2018-2020 outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces that claimed nearly 2,300 lives.
Ebola,first identified in 1976 in both Sudan and the DRC (then Zaire) – near the Ebola River from which the disease derives its name – is a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever characterized by symptoms including fever,vomiting,diarrhea,generalized pain,and frequently enough,internal and external bleeding.
