WHO Raises Alarm Over Rare Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo and Uganda

The World Health Organization has declared the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern”, after a fast-moving surge of infections killed nearly 90 people.

The outbreak began in Ituri province in eastern DRC and involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare variant with no approved vaccine or specific treatment. That detail matters: Ebola is always dangerous, but a strain without targeted medical tools leaves health workers leaning heavily on speed, isolation, contact tracing and basic containment.

Health authorities say the regional risk is high. Cases have already crossed into Uganda, and infections linked to the outbreak have reached Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital. Still, the WHO stopped short of declaring a pandemic and advised countries not to close borders or restrict trade.

The outbreak was first reported on Friday in Ituri province, near the borders with Uganda and South Sudan, according to Africa CDC. By Saturday, the agency had recorded 88 deaths and 336 suspected cases.

The initial cluster emerged in Mongwalu, a busy mining area where population movement is constant. Infected people later travelled elsewhere for care, spreading the virus beyond the original zone. That is the nightmare logic of Ebola containment: once patients move through weak health systems, every delay becomes an opening.

Africa CDC warned that displacement, fragile healthcare infrastructure and armed-group violence in Ituri could complicate the response.

DRC Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said the outbreak’s patient zero was a nurse who arrived at a health facility in Bunia, Ituri’s capital, on April 24 with Ebola-like symptoms.

Uganda has reported two laboratory-confirmed cases linked to travellers from the DRC, including one death in Kampala.

“The number of cases and deaths we are seeing in such a short timeframe, combined with the spread across several health zones and now across the border, is extremely concerning,” said Trish Newport of Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF.

“In Ituri, many people already struggle to access healthcare and live with ongoing insecurity, making rapid action critical to prevent the outbreak from escalating further,” she added.

Ebola is a severe viral disease first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the DRC. It is believed to originate in wild animals, particularly bats, before spilling over into humans.

The virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, including blood, vomit and semen, or through contaminated materials such as bedding and clothing. People become contagious once symptoms begin.

Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, intense weakness, muscle pain and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding. The incubation period ranges from two to 21 days.

The Bundibugyo strain, first identified in Uganda in 2007, is especially worrying because it has limited medical countermeasures.

It has a “very high lethality rate, which can reach 50 percent”, Kamba said. “The Bundibugyo strain has no vaccine, no specific treatment,” he added.

The WHO’s emergency declaration is its second-highest alert level under international health regulations. It signals that the outbreak is serious enough to require coordinated international action, but not yet at the level of a pandemic emergency.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said neighbouring countries were “considered at high risk for further spread due to population mobility, trade and travel linkages, and ongoing epidemiological uncertainty”.

The organisation urged countries in the region to activate emergency systems, strengthen cross-border screening, isolate confirmed cases quickly and monitor contacts daily. It also recommended that exposed individuals avoid international travel for 21 days.

But the WHO also warned against closing borders outright. That may sound counterintuitive, but in outbreak control, hard closures can push people into informal crossings, making tracking harder and containment weaker.

“There are significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time,” the WHO said.

“In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases.”

The DRC has seen at least 17 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first discovered there. The country’s deadliest outbreak ran from 2018 to 2020 and killed nearly 2,300 people, with some cases also reported in Uganda. Another outbreak last year killed at least 34 people before it was declared over in December.

This latest emergency comes with an added layer of difficulty: insecurity. Ituri is not just a health crisis zone; it is also an active conflict zone.

“The ongoing insecurity, humanitarian crisis, high population mobility, the urban or semiurban nature of the current hotspot and the large network of informal healthcare facilities further compound the risk of spread, as was witnessed during the large Ebola virus disease epidemic in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in 2018-19,” the WHO warned.

Earlier this month, rebels killed at least 69 people in Ituri, according to security officials. The region faces continued attacks by armed groups including the Allied Democratic Forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 movement.