Global Outbreak Tracker · Oct 24, 2026Emergency nurseries rescue DR Congo’s Ebola orphans

Global Outbreak Tracker · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Published October 24, 2026, 4:37 PM CDT

With the disease still spreading five months into the epidemic, the nursery in the remote east is one of 12 receiving the children of those killed by the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever.^[1]

The Threat

“Many children have lost both their father and mother because of Ebola,” Marie Bakikula, a caregiver at a UNICEF-supported nursery in Mongbwalu, told AFP.^[1]

The mining town in Ituri province near the Uganda border is considered the epicentre of the outbreak. Children account for about one-third of deaths and more than one-quarter of infections in the current crisis — more than 2,000 cases, according to UNICEF.^[1]

A short distance from the nursery, workers in white protective suits loaded a child-sized coffin into the back of a pickup truck.^[1]

World Health Organization says: Since the publication of the previous Disease Outbreak News on 8 October 2026, the Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak has expanded geographically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as in the African Region, with Kenya and Nigeria reporting imported cases. As of 20 October 2026, a total of 9704 confirmed cases, including 4687 deaths (crude case fatality ratio: 48.3%), have been reported across 66 health zones in eight provinces.^[2]

Video: CGTN Africa, October 19, 2026 — “Ebola outbreak disrupts children’s education in eastern DR Congo”. Matched to this story by shared names and terms in its title; watch the original for full context.

Transmission Method

What the reports say about exposure and spread: The disease, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids and causes severe haemorrhagic fever, has infected 9,704 people and killed 4,687 in the DRC, according to the latest health authority figures, giving it a fatality rate of nearly 50 percent.^[1]

How Ebola spreads, according to the World Health Organization: Fruit bats are thought to be Ebola's natural hosts. The virus reaches people through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other body fluids of infected animals, then spreads between people through direct contact with the body fluids of the sick. People cannot pass it on before they have symptoms. Health workers without strict infection control, and burials that involve touching the body, have often spread it.^[3]

Affected Regions

Places named in the reports: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, France.

• Of the 482 deaths reported since the previous update, 307 occurred in communities and 175 in treatment centres.^[2]
• As of 20 October 2026, a total of nine cases of BVD including one death, has been reported in Kenya.^[2]

What Is Not Confirmed

• Health authorities said the confirmed cases remained within a cluster of known contacts, with no evidence of community transmission reported in the Ministry’s update.^[1]
• The Ministry has urged members of the public to remain calm, follow official health advisories and seek medical attention promptly if they develop symptoms consistent with Ebola, particularly if they may have been exposed to a confirmed case.^[1]
• There is currently no evidence of wider community transmission.^[2]

Holistic & Immune Defense Outlook

There is no herb, supplement or diet that has been shown to prevent or cure Ebola. Early intensive supportive care, including rehydration and treating symptoms, improves survival. Approved vaccines (such as Ervebo) and antibody treatments exist only for Ebola virus disease. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for Sudan or Bundibugyo virus disease; candidates are being tested. If you have symptoms after a possible exposure, the most important step is to see a clinician quickly and tell them where you have been.

The World Health Organization’s protective steps for this disease:

• Avoid close contact with sick people and with their blood and body fluids.
• Choose a safe and dignified burial; do not touch the body of someone who died of Ebola.
• Avoid contact with wild animals found sick or dead, such as fruit bats and monkeys.

What a whole-body approach can do is keep your baseline strong, so your body is better able to respond when it meets any infection. The basics have the best evidence behind them: steady sleep, a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, beans and whole grains, enough water, regular movement, and keeping routine vaccinations current.

The healers of Kemet left one of the oldest medical texts in the world, the Ebers Papyrus, written around 1550 BCE. Its lesson still holds: watch the body closely, and act early.

What Capital FM Africa Reports

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 24 – A 65-year-old woman who died after contracting the Bundibugyo Ebola virus has been buried under strict infection-prevention measures, with health authorities seeking to respect Muslim burial traditions while protecting mourners and the wider public. The woman, who was a close relative of Kenya’s first confirmed Ebola patient, died on Friday while receiving treatment at an infectious disease unit in Nairobi.^[4]

How 59 Outlets Are Reporting It

• Emergency nurseries rescue DR Congo’s Ebola orphans (Jamaica Observer)
• 65-Year-Old Second Ebola Patient Buried Under Strict Safety Measures (Capital FM Africa)
• Ebola cases in DR Congo rise to 9,816, death toll reaches 4,757 (AzerNews)
• Gov’t conducts second Ebola burial under strict public health protocols (Citizen Digital)
• Bunia: Ebola Outbreak in Congo #Gallery (Social News XYZ)
• WHO Begins Ebola Vaccine Trial In DR Congo As Death Toll Exceeds 4600 (Sahara Reporters)
• FCT Directs Health Facilities To Strengthen Ebola Preparedness (News Agency of Nigeria)
• WHO Begins Ebola Vaccine Trial In DR Congo Amid Deadly Outbreak (News Mobile)
• First Bundibugyo Ebola Case as Outbreak Tops 9,700 Cases (cedarnews.net)
• Ebola: Ondo deploys four ambulances, places health workers on red alert (The Nation Newspaper)

References

1. Jamaica Observer. Emergency nurseries rescue DR Congo’s Ebola orphans.
2. World Health Organization. Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus – Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Nigeria.
3. World Health Organization. Ebola fact sheet.
4. Capital FM Africa. 65-Year-Old Second Ebola Patient Buried Under Strict Safety Measures.

Investigative methodology: story details come from the cited event report. Disease background comes from the World Health Organization page cited beside it. We publish a new update only when an official assessment changes and the sourcing, writing and fact checks pass.

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