May 27, 2026
A health worker (R) measures the temperature of a patient (2nd L) suspected of having Ebola as she is transported by motorcycle taxi to Rwampara Hospital in Ituri, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 26, 2026. On May 15, the DRC declared an epidemic caused by the Bundibugyo virus. There is neither a vaccine nor a specific treatment for this virus, which causes Ebola with a fatality rate of up to 50%. The WHO has issued an international health alert. More than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths had already been recorded by the 12th day of the epidemic, according to official reports. But the true scale of the health disaster is not yet known, and international health authorities believe that the current figures are probably underestimated. (Photo by Glody MURHABAZI / AFP)
Uganda shut its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday in a bid to contain the Ebola outbreak that has hit its neighbour, the health ministry announced.
The East African country has recorded seven cases of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola since the outbreak was identified in the DRC on May 15.
“Uganda is temporarily closing the border with the DRC with immediate effect,” health ministry permanent secretary Diana Atwine told reporters.
