BUNIA — Parents and teachers in Ituri province are urging authorities to delay the reopening of schools due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

The World Health Organization stated the outbreak remains out of control. The Bundibugyo virus is causing the current Ebola outbreak in Congo. Children aged 4 and below have a 60% case-fatality rate in the current Ebola outbreak.

The World Health Organization stated the current outbreak is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak in total deaths. The 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak killed more than 11,000 people. Officials believe the current Ebola outbreak had been spreading since February 2026. The current Ebola outbreak was declared in mid-May 2026.

The Ebola outbreak has spread from three health zones to nearly 60 health zones. Most cases and deaths in the current outbreak are occurring outside the network of monitored contacts and within communities. Life has been disrupted in six affected provinces in Congo due to outbreak control measures.

Efforts to control the outbreak have included limiting public gatherings, social distancing, and airport closures. The government has installed health and sanitary equipment at some locations.

There are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus. Clinical trials of potential vaccines and treatments for the Bundibugyo virus have begun in the region. According to the World Health Organization, the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) was declared on 17 May 2026, and the World Health Organization activated international coordination for the response. A WHO expert stated there is no confirmed cross-protection between the existing Zaire Ebola vaccine (Ervebo) and the Bundibugyo virus.

Twenty thousand doses of the Ervebo vaccine will be used in a Phase 3 clinical trial to assess its impact against the Bundibugyo virus, while 50,000 doses are intended for frontline and health workers. Phase 1 trials of vaccine candidates specifically targeting the Bundibugyo virus are being prepared but will take months.

Why It Matters

The push to delay school reopenings shows the tension between educational continuity and public health safety during a severe epidemic. With a case-fatality rate of 60% for children aged 4 and below, the risk to students is high. The outbreak's expansion from three to nearly 60 health zones indicates widespread community transmission that monitoring networks have not contained.

The lack of approved treatments for the Bundibugyo virus complicates the response, forcing reliance on containment measures and experimental trials. The declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern marks the global nature of the crisis. The potential for this outbreak to exceed the death toll of the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic marks it as one of the most severe Ebola events in recent history.

Timeline

The local Ituri teachers union met in Bunia on Tuesday to urge authorities to assess the outbreak before deciding whether to reopen schools. There are 5,713 confirmed cases of Ebola in the current outbreak in Congo as of August 27, 2026. There have been 2,744 deaths from the current Ebola outbreak in Congo as of August 27, 2026. Schools are set to reopen across Congo on September 1.

What's New

A study titled "BUILDING HUMAN SECURITY IN ITURI PROVINCE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO" was published in 2010 in ResearchSpace (University of KwaZulu-Natal). A study titled "Two Obstacles in Response Efforts to the Ebola Epidemic in the Provinces of North Kivu and Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Denial of and Rumors about the Disease" was published in 2023 in Journal of Immunological Sciences. The Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) was declared on 17 May 2026, and the World Health Organization activated international coordination for the response.