Ebola Deaths Pass 5,300 in Central Africa: What Nurses Everywhere Need to Know Now

The Ebola outbreak centred on the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now killed 5,376 people, according to Africa CDC data reported on 3 November 2026. About 10,444 people have been infected with the Bundibugyo strain, and more than half of those infected have died.

Why this outbreak is different

The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in mid-May 2026, and it is now its largest. The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern in May. The biggest challenge for health workers is the strain itself:

• There is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for Bundibugyo. The Ervebo vaccine and the antibody treatments used in recent outbreaks target the Zaire strain.
• Trials are under way. Clinical trials of Ervebo have started in the DRC, and WHO has added candidate vaccines from Oxford and Moderna to a trial. Read our earlier report on the Bundibugyo vaccine trial.
• Cases have been exported. Imported or suspected cases have been reported in several countries, including a health worker who returned to France from the DRC in July.

Health workers are at the front line

Nurses and other health workers have been infected and killed in this outbreak, both through exposure at treatment centres and in attacks on response teams. In past Ebola epidemics, health workers were many times more likely to be infected than the general population, often before an outbreak was recognised, when patients were treated without the right protection.

What every nurse should do now, wherever you work

1. Ask about travel

Make a travel history part of triage for any patient with fever. Ask whether they have been to the DRC, Uganda or Kenya, or cared for someone who was sick, in the last 21 days, which is the maximum incubation period.

2. Know the early symptoms

Ebola starts like many common infections: sudden fever, tiredness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Bleeding happens in only some patients and often late, so do not wait for it.

3. Isolate first, then call for advice

• Put the patient in a single room with the door closed and limit who enters.
• Use standard and contact precautions straight away: gloves, fluid-resistant gown, eye protection and a fluid-resistant mask, and add more if your local Ebola protocol says so.
• Inform your infection prevention team and the public health authority before any samples are sent.
• Keep a list of everyone who has had contact with the patient.

4. Put on and take off PPE with a buddy

Most health worker infections happen while taking PPE off. Use a trained observer, follow your facility’s step-by-step sequence, and clean your hands between steps.

5. Look after waste and the environment

Treat all body fluids, linen and waste from a suspected case as infectious, and follow your facility’s rules for disinfection and disposal.

Is the risk high outside Central Africa?

For most countries the risk remains low, but imported cases show why health facilities must be ready. Check your facility’s Ebola or viral haemorrhagic fever plan, find out where the PPE is kept, and practise donning and doffing before you need it.

Related: Ebola scare in Adamawa: suspected cases test negative · Needlestick injury: what to do in the first hour

Sources: Africa CDC data as reported by Al Jazeera, 3 November 2026; World Health Organization Ebola disease fact sheet and infection prevention and control guidance. Follow your national public health authority’s current guidance.