Overview
- The World Health Organization reported on Monday, May 25 that more than 900 suspected cases have been logged in eastern DR Congo, including 101 laboratory‑confirmed infections and roughly 220 deaths.
- Tests identify the outbreak as the Bundibugyo variant, which has no approved vaccine or specific treatment and carries an estimated case‑fatality rate near 30 to 50 percent.
- The virus has crossed the border into Uganda, where health officials confirmed seven cases by May 25 and are tracing contacts while some countries have tightened transport measures.
- Response efforts are being undermined by violence, repeated attacks on treatment sites, burned isolation tents and the flight of dozens of suspected patients, all driven in part by deep local mistrust and burial customs.
- Global agencies have declared a public‑health emergency, WHO says the epidemic is spreading faster than response capacity and WHO Director‑General Tedros plans to travel to the DRC on Tuesday as Africa CDC warns of high regional risk and likely undercounted cases.