Overview
- WHO said Monday that surveillance now identifies more than 900 suspected cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo with 101 laboratory-confirmed infections and about 220 suspected deaths.
- The rare Bundibugyo ebolavirus has crossed into Uganda, where health authorities have confirmed seven linked cases including health workers in Kampala.
- There is no licensed vaccine or strain-specific treatment for Bundibugyo, so clinicians rely on isolation and supportive care while researchers at institutions such as Oxford fast-track vaccine development that could take weeks to months to begin trials.
- Ongoing armed attacks on treatment sites, community mistrust and large population movements have forced patients to flee, damaged contact tracing operations and left teams able to follow only a small share of contacts in a day.
- International actors have raised alarm and tightened controls: WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, Africa CDC warned multiple countries are at risk, and neighbouring states have imposed travel and entry screening and restrictions.