The director general of theWorld Health Organization (WHO)) alerted on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 about "the scale and the speed" of the Ebola epidemic that has struck the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it is believed to be responsible for 131 deaths and 513 suspected cases. Ebola causes a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever. The deadly virus has claimed more than 15,000 lives in Africa over the past 50 years.
"Public health emergency"
The WHO issued an international health alert on Sunday in response to the new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a vast Central African country with over 100 million inhabitants. The organization is scheduled to convene its emergency committee on Tuesday to assess the situation. The African Union's health agency (Africa CDC) declared an outbreak on Monday evening. "public health emergency" continental.
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Few samples have been able to be tested in the laboratory to date and the assessments in the DRC are mainly based on suspected cases. "We have recorded approximately 131 cases of death." in total and "We have approximately 513 suspected cases.""Samuel Roger Kamba, the DRC's Minister of Health, declared on national television on Tuesday.
"The deaths we are reporting are all the deaths we have found in the community, without necessarily saying that they are all linked to Ebola."He specified that the previous report from the Congolese Ministry of Health indicated 91 deaths and 350 suspected cases. The strain of the virus responsible for the current epidemic is called Bundibugyo. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for this variant.
The measures to try to contain its spread therefore rely essentially on respecting barrier measures and the rapid detection of cases to limit contacts.
The virus has already spread beyond the borders of the DRC
The epicenter of the epidemic is located in Ituri, a province in northeastern Congo, bordering Uganda and South Sudan. In this gold-mining region plagued by violence from armed groups, intense population movements linked to mining activity take place daily.
The virus has already spread beyond the borders of Ituri and the DRC. "Unfortunately, the alert was delayed in the community because there was a belief that it was a mystical illness, and therefore, because of this, the sick were not taken to the hospital."Mr. Kamba indicated.
Suspected cases have been reported in Butembo, a commercial hub in North Kivu province, which borders Ituri, about 200 km from the epicenter of the outbreak, he added. A case has also been identified in Goma, a major city in eastern Congo controlled by the anti-government armed group M23 and the capital of North Kivu. "Given the intensity of movements and facilitated exchanges of heavy traffic between the affected areas and North Kivu province, the population is extremely exposed to the risk of this deadly disease."the military governor of North Kivu said in a speech on Monday.
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One case and one death have also been recorded in Uganda, according to the government. These were two Congolese nationals who had traveled from the DRC; no local outbreak has been reported.
Washington announced on Monday the implementation of health checks for air travelers arriving from affected countries in Africa and the temporary restriction of visa issuance for foreigners who have traveled to these areas. Germany announced on Tuesday that it would "to welcome and care for" an American patient who contracted Ebola in the DRC.
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