News Screen – The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern about the rapid spread of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which has killed around 131 people.
WHO assesses that the outbreak has the potential to last a long time because the spread of cases occurs in conflict areas where health services are difficult to reach.
WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said his party was deeply concerned about the “scale and speed” of the spread of the Ebola epidemic in the eastern region of the DRC.
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The UN health agency has also declared the spike in cases an international health emergency and held an urgent meeting to discuss steps to handle the outbreak.
Congolese Minister of Health, Samuel Roger Kamba, said that as of Tuesday (19/5/2026), there were around 513 suspected cases with 131 deaths recorded in the community.
“The deaths we report are all cases that have been identified in the community, although not all of them have been confirmed to be related to Ebola,” he said via national television broadcast.
This latest outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo Ebola strain, which currently does not have a vaccine or specific therapy. WHO said the Ervebo vaccine candidate is being considered, but is not expected to be available in the next two months.
The epicenter of the outbreak is in Ituri Province, a northeastern region of the DRC bordering Uganda and South Sudan. The area is known as a gold mining area and has been hit by armed conflict for years.
The unstable security situation is a big challenge in handling the outbreak. WHO said many affected areas are difficult to access so laboratory testing of patient samples is still limited.
Apart from Ituri, suspected cases were also reported in Butembo and Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province which was previously controlled by the M23 armed group.
The Congolese doctor who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, Denis Mukwege, asked armed groups to open access to the airport in Goma to speed up the distribution of humanitarian aid and medical personnel.
The International Committee of the Red Cross considers coordination between parties involved in the conflict to be an important factor in ensuring humanitarian access continues.
Meanwhile, the Ebola outbreak began to raise international alarm after Uganda reported two confirmed cases in Kampala, including one fatality who had a travel history from the DRC.
The United States government has also tightened supervision of passengers from affected areas and temporarily suspended visa services. Additionally, US citizens are asked to avoid travel to the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan.
This outbreak is the 17th Ebola epidemic to occur in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent decades. Previously, the deadliest outbreak in 2018–2020 caused nearly 2,300 deaths from around 3,500 cases.***
