FILE PHOTO: Thermometers are pictured at the entrance of an Ebola Treatment Centre in the Eastern Congolese town of Butembo in the Democratic Republic of Congo
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An Ebola outbreak in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo linked to 65 deaths and hundreds of suspected infections has spread across the border to Uganda, triggering concern that it will be even more difficult to contain. About 246 cases have been reported, with preliminary testing detecting the Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Regional health officials convened an urgent meeting to coordinate a response while sequencing continues to determine the strain, it said. Ebola virus disease is among the world’s most deadly infectious illnesses, with outbreaks killing anywhere from a quarter to almost 90 per cent of those who contract it.While the Trump administration’s decision last year to slash funding has weighed on international health programs, the leader of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the agency is offering support during the outbreak.The US is “closely monitoring” the situation in the Congo as well as an outbreak in Uganda that it learned about on Friday morning, acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya said during a media briefing with reporters. The US is providing technical support, he said.“We have country offices in both the DRC and in Uganda that are well staffed and that have the capacity to help the countries with the Ebola outbreak,” Bhattacharya said. “We will absolutely mobilize there as needed.”Four deaths were recorded among confirmed cases in Ituri province, an area affected during eastern Congo’s 2018-20 Ebola epidemic, the world’s second-largest outbreak, which killed 2,287 people. Suspected infections have also been reported in Bunia, a city of almost 700,000 people.Ituri is rich in gold, with tens of thousands of people working in artisanal mines despite the nearest industrial operation being more than 130 miles (210 kilometers) from the outbreak’s epicenter. The sector’s highly mobile workforce, porous borders and chronic insecurity complicate disease surveillance and contact tracing as traders move between remote camps and hubs in nearby countries. Also, many mines are controlled by armed groups or rogue members of Congo’s army, according to United Nations experts. Spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, Ebola can trigger fever, vomiting, diarrhea and internal bleeding. Weak health systems and delays in detecting cases can allow epidemics to spiral quickly.Still, Congo has developed significant expertise in containing Ebola after battling more than a dozen epidemics since the virus was first identified near the Ebola River in 1976. Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research has become one of Africa’s leading viral genomics centers, while health authorities have built systems for rapid testing, ring vaccination, contact tracing and community engagement. The country’s last outbreak in October was contained in six weeks.The INRB and Congo’s health ministry didn’t immediately respond to calls and messages requesting comment. Bhattacharya said the US is already working to help in the region and to protect the rest of the world. “We are absolutely involved,” he said. “If we have a safe world, if we have a world where we can address these needs, like the Ebola outbreak, we will also have a safer America,” he said. “We reduce the risk of them coming here.”Initial testing from the latest cluster suggests a non-Zaire ebolavirus, with more detailed sequencing results expected within 24 hours, Africa CDC said. Of the six known ebolavirus species, four have caused major outbreaks in humans. While the Zaire strain is the deadliest and most common, Sudan ebolavirus has previously caused outbreaks in the region and there is no widely approved vaccine against it.Africa CDC is meeting with government officials, the World Health Organization and pharmaceutical companies including Merck & Co., Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comPublished on May 16, 2026
