WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo Thursday and, in an open letter to residents bearing the brunt of a deadly Ebola outbreak, asked local militias to declare a ceasefire and pleaded with young people to “share what you know about Ebola” and “help break the fear and silence that allow this virus to spread.”
Health workers are sprayed with disinfectant after coming into contact with the body of a person suspected of having died from Ebola in Bunia.
THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2026Ghebreyesus said his agency is working to scale up Ebola diagnostic capacities in Congo in an effort to identify cases earlier and stop the rapidly spreading disease, and also referenced the challenges health officials face in the region including a decades-long ethnic conflict, misinformation and distrust.
MAY 27, 2026President Donald Trump’s administration confirms it is building a quarantine and treatment center in Kenya where Americans who are evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the center of the Ebola outbreak, will quarantine and, if needed, be treated at the Kenyan center "without the risks of a lengthy transport back to the US," the White House said, a stark contrast from past Ebola outbreaks in which U.S. citizens were brought home for treatment in specialized medical units.
