According to the WHO, there are almost 750 suspected cases and almost 180 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Image: keystone
May 23, 2026, 6:12 p.mMay 23, 2026, 6:12 p.m
The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo may have started earlier than previously thought. The Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Geneva said three Red Cross volunteers were probably infected on March 27 when they came into contact with dead people in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They were deployed on another humanitarian issue before it became known that the Ebola virus was rampant. They reportedly died on May 5th, 15th and 16th.
The outbreak went undetected for weeks
So far, the earliest known infection in the current outbreak was a man from Congo who was treated for symptoms on April 24 and died three days later. The first Ebola cases were only confirmed in the laboratory on May 15th. On May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern. At this point there were already more than 240 known suspected infections.
Experts assume that the outbreak went undetected for weeks. Clusters of unexplained deaths have been investigated previously. Since the current outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus, the pathogen was not initially confirmed using conventional tests.
New cases discovered in Uganda
According to the WHO, there are almost 750 suspected cases and almost 180 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the country, 83 infections with the Ebola virus, including 9 deaths, were confirmed in the laboratory.
For the first time since last week, neighboring Uganda also reported three new confirmed infections with the virus. Two of them, a driver and a nurse, came into contact with the first known case in the country last week, the Ugandan Ministry of Health announced. Uganda now has five confirmed cases. The country does not publish figures on suspected cases.
Woman with Ebola symptoms on a plane
The third case was a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo who traveled by plane to the Ugandan capital Kampala. She was treated there for abdominal problems and then traveled back. A sample from her has now tested positive for Ebola, it was said. All contacts of the three infected people have been identified and are being monitored and traced with regard to their contacts.
Ebola fever is a contagious and life-threatening infectious disease. The current outbreak is particularly difficult to contain because there is neither a vaccine nor a specific therapy for the rare Bundibugyo type.
The WHO considers the risk of infection to be very high in the Congo, high in the region, but low worldwide. Unlike the coronavirus, Ebola is not transmitted through droplets in the air, but rather through close contact with the body fluids of an infected person. (sda/dpa)