Red Cross workers carry the coffin of a person who died of Ebola at a health center in Rwampara, Congo, Wednesday, May 20, 2026.Image: keystone
May 21, 2026, 9:46 p.mMay 21, 2026, 9:46 p.m
According to local authorities, the number of Ebola infections in eastern Congo continues to rise rapidly. There are now 671 suspected cases and 160 suspected deaths, according to the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the Ministry of Health, 64 infections and 6 deaths were confirmed in the laboratory.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) spoke of almost 600 suspected cases and more than 130 suspected deaths. She assumes that the actual number of infections is significantly higher because not all cases of the disease are reported.
In neighboring Uganda, the Ministry of Health announced that apart from the two cases known so far among Congolese citizens, no new infections had been reported. One of the patients had died. The second patient tested negative for the virus for the second time on Wednesday and is still undergoing treatment.
Rare Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus
The Ebola outbreak began in Congo’s northeastern province of Ituri, which borders Uganda and South Sudan, according to Africa CDC. This is the 17th recorded Ebola outbreak in the Congo since 1976. The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus, for which there is neither a vaccine nor a treatment, makes the situation particularly difficult to contain.
Ebola fever is a contagious and life-threatening infectious disease. The virus is transmitted through physical contact and contact with body fluids. In 2014 and 2015, more than 11,000 people died in an Ebola epidemic in West Africa. (sda/dpa)