WHO has declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” and the Africa CDC has declared its own Continental Public Health Emergency designation.

At least 131 people are believed to have died and 531 infected in the outbreak, according to health authorities in central Africa. An American missionary was among those who tested positive for the deadly disease.

Share on Pinterest A staff member of the CBCA Virunga Hospital checks a visitor’s temperature using a a contactless infrared thermometer, before allowing her access to the hospital in Goma on May 17, 2026. Image credit: JOSPIN MWISHA/Getty Images A ...

The declaration came after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths. All the cases are in Congo, except for two recorded in neighboring Uganda.

The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, warning that the rare Bundibugyo strain has already crossed borders,

WHO 79th World Health Assembly: World Health Organization member states meet in Geneva. Deadly hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks are major concerns. Uncertainty surrounds US and Argentinian withdrawals from the WHO.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is due to give an update after it declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international con