In a statement released on Friday, May 15, 2026, Africa CDC said it is closely monitoring the outbreak in Ituri province and has begun working with the DRC government and international health partners to coordinate an emergency response.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has confirmed a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising fears of a wider regional health emergency.
In a statement released on Friday, May 15, 2026, Africa CDC said it is closely monitoring the outbreak in Ituri province and has begun working with the DRC government and international health partners to coordinate an emergency response.
According to the agency, preliminary laboratory tests conducted by the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) confirmed the presence of the Ebola virus in 13 out of 20 samples analysed.
The agency noted that the findings suggest the outbreak may involve a non-Zaire strain of the ebolavirus, while sequencing is still ongoing to determine the exact variant involved.
