Ebola outbreak in DR Congo now deadliest in country's history

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has officially become the deadliest in the country's history, data suggests.

The number of confirmed cases has risen to 4,945 - including 2,325 deaths - surpassing the 2,299 who were killed during a previous outbreak between 2018 and 2020.

On Friday, the UN's humanitarian affairs chief Tom Fletcher said "Ebola is winning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" - adding that the epidemic was now killing one person every 30 minutes.

The UN has since allocated an additional $30.5m (£22.5m) from its Central Emergency Response Fund to the DRC and its neighbours to tackle the outbreak, in addition to the $24m (£17.7m) it had previously allocated.

It has also deployed a further 20 staff to the outbreak's epicentre, but Mr Fletcher has warned more may be needed to stop the spread, which has reached six of the DRC's 26 provinces.

Mr Fletcher said: "This is a wake-up call. We need speed, scale and solidarity before this virus gets even further ahead of us."

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(c) Sky News 2026: Ebola outbreak in DR Congo now deadliest in country's history

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