An Ebola outbreak has been declared in Ituri province, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a region plagued by armed conflict, the Africa CDC, the health agency of the African Union (AU), announced Friday in Addis Ababa.

So far, four deaths have been attributed to the virus in the laboratory and 246 suspected cases, including 65 fatalities, have been recorded, according to the Africa CDC.

"An outbreak of Ebola virus disease has been confirmed in Ituri province," the Africa CDC wrote on X on Friday.

The Ebola virus often remains deadly despite recent vaccines and treatments. This highly contagious hemorrhagic fever has claimed 15,000 lives in Africa over the past 50 years. The deadliest Ebola outbreak in the DRC, which occurred between 2018 and 2020, resulted in nearly 2,300 deaths and 3,500 cases.

The AU health agency says it is "closely monitoring the situation" and is organizing an "urgent high-level coordination meeting on Friday with the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan and international partners to strengthen cross-border surveillance, preparedness and efforts to combat the epidemic".

The presence of the virus has been confirmed in 13 of the 20 samples tested in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, according to Africa CDC, which specifies that "four deaths have been reported among the laboratory-confirmed cases".

Suspected cases have also been found in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, and are "awaiting confirmation", according to the Africa CDC.

The current epidemic is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since the disease was first identified in 1976 in Zaire, the former name of this vast Central African country.

The most recent epidemic in the DRC so far, declared in August 2025 in the center of the country, caused at least 34 deaths, before being declared eradicated in December.

Human transmission of the virus occurs through bodily fluids, with the main symptoms being fever, vomiting, bleeding, and diarrhea.

Infected individuals only become contagious after the onset of symptoms, following an incubation period ranging from two to 21 days.

Eastern DRC has been plagued by violence for over 30 years.

AFP