CDC Activates Highest-Level Ebola Response as DRC Outbreak Tops 1,100 Cases

America's highest health alarm

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared a Level 1 emergency response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 27, 2026 — the agency's top internal mobilization tier, last activated for the catastrophic 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic.medicalxpress The decision came as the outbreak's confirmed case count surpassed 1,115 in the DRC, with 304 deaths recorded in just over a month.medicalxpress CDC Ebola response lead Satish Pillai told reporters the domestic risk "continues to remain low," but said the escalation signals the outbreak is now a top agency priority requiring rapid deployment of staff and resources.medicalxpress

A strain without a vaccine — and nearly 300 patients missing

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine or treatment currently exists.medicalxpress Supportive care remains the only intervention, and the U.S. announced it would ship doses of an experimental therapy called MBP134 to the DRC and Uganda, with additional doses sent to Oxford University for a clinical trial.medicalxpress Uganda has reported 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, with containment there described as more effective than in the DRC.medicalxpress In the DRC, however, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya disclosed that the whereabouts of nearly 300 confirmed Ebola patients are entirely unknown, largely because more than one million displaced people live in conflict camps health workers cannot access.theguardian "Where are these people?" Kaseya asked reporters on Thursday. Bed occupancy in Ebola treatment centers stood at 95% capacity, and Kaseya warned the outbreak has not yet peaked.theguardian

Scale that rivals 2014 — and could get worse

WHO modelling published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases projects between 6,636 and 10,287 confirmed cases in the DRC by mid-September, with a central estimate of approximately 8,210 cases and 1,420 deaths.theguardian The worst-case scenario in that modelling reaches 66,000 confirmed cases by September.theguardian At the same point in the 2014–2016 outbreak — five weeks after declaration — there were 239 cases and 160 deaths; this outbreak already has nearly five times as many.theguardian WHO modelling also gives the epidemic a 70% chance of spreading to South Sudan in the coming weeks.theguardian

Funding gap and a $1.4 billion ask

Africa CDC and the WHO have said at minimum $518 million is needed for the health response alone; when humanitarian costs are factored in, the total rises to $1.4 billion.theguardian The White House submitted that full $1.4 billion as a supplemental funding request to Congress this week.forbes Despite broad international pledges, only about 13% of $910 million in commitments has actually been delivered to the response effort.theguardian Kaseya warned bluntly: "If we don't have this $1.4 billion, and if we don't resolve the humanitarian issue, we will not stop this outbreak."theguardian France confirmed separately that a doctor who had worked in the DRC tested positive for Ebola on return, becoming the first known imported case in Europe during this outbreak.theguardian