Overview
- Health officials report nearly 250 suspected infections in Ituri, with 13 lab-confirmed cases and four confirmed deaths, and the DRC health ministry now cites 80 total deaths under investigation.
- Uganda confirmed an imported fatal case in Kampala linked to the same Bundibugyo strain, heightening concern about movement across the DRC–Uganda–South Sudan corridor.
- WHO has deployed experts, shipped protective gear to Bunia, and unlocked $500,000 from its emergency fund, while Africa CDC convened urgent coordination with DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan to strengthen surveillance and labs.
- Responders face hard access, poor roads, and active armed groups in Ituri, which slow contact tracing, safe burials, and delivery of care as residents in Bunia describe frequent burials and growing fear.
- This is the DRC’s 17th recorded Ebola event since 1976; most past outbreaks involved the Zaire virus covered by existing vaccines, but Bundibugyo lacks a licensed shot, which limits ring vaccination and could shift more weight to isolation and cross-border screening.