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Historical · 1976

1976 Zaire (now DRC) Ebola outbreak (EBOV)

Yambuku. Reported 318 cases and 280 deaths, apparent CFR 88.1%. Strain: Zaire virus.

Last updated

At a glance

Years
1976
Countries
Zaire (now DRC)
Locations
Yambuku
Strain
Zaire virus (EBOV)
Reported cases
318
Reported deaths
280
Apparent CFR
88.1%
Why this outbreak matters
Index outbreak. Reused needles in a mission hospital amplified spread. Named for the Ebola River near Yambuku.

Location

Centroid placed at the most commonly reported town or health zone for this outbreak. See the full outbreak map for every recorded event since 1976.

Yambuku

2.835°, 22.218°

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Other Zaire virus outbreaks on record

YearLocationCasesDeathsCFR
1994-1995Gabon · Makokou - gold-mining camps523159.6%
1995Zaire (now DRC) · Kikwit31525480.6%
1996-1997Gabon · Mayibout 2, Booué, Libreville916672.5%
2001-2003Gabon, Republic of the Congo · Border regions - Mbomo, Kelle30225484.1%
2005Republic of the Congo · Etoumbi121083.3%
2007DRC · Luebo, Mweka - Kasaï-Occidental26418770.8%
2008-2009DRC · Mweka, Luebo321443.8%
2013-2016Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal · Multiple - first cross-border ebolavirus epidemic28,61611,31039.5%
2014DRC · Équateur Province664974.2%
2018DRC · Bikoro, Mbandaka - Équateur Province543361.1%
2018-2020DRC, Uganda · North Kivu, Ituri, South Kivu - armed-conflict zones3,4702,28065.7%
2020DRC · Équateur Province1305542.3%
2021DRC · Butembo, North Kivu12650.0%
2021Guinea · N’Zérékoré Region231252.2%
2021DRC · North Kivu11981.8%
2025DRC · Kasaï Province812834.6%

Source

https://www.cdc.gov/ebola/outbreaks/index.html

Cross-checked against our source ledger. Numbers may revise as primary documents are re-verified.