Ebola

Uganda ⁠discharges last-remaining patient, as WHO says Ebola has ‘expanded faster than any previous outbreak’ in DRC.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Ebola is spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo more quickly than in any previous outbreak.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Thursday that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC in 2018-2020 “took more than 10 months to reach 2,000 confirmed cases”. But this time more than 2,000 cases were confirmed in only two months, including 796 deaths.

“It is now the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record,” Tedros said. “In the past month, it has expanded faster than any previous outbreak.”

The DRC reported 62 new cases on Thursday, increasing its total number of confirmed infections to 2,073, though the ⁠⁠WHO has said the ⁠⁠true tally could be at least double that.

The DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 after several deaths in Ituri, the mineral-rich northeastern province patrolled by several armed groups.

Cases of Ebola, which spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids, have so far been found in five DRC provinces and neighbouring Uganda, though the vast majority are in Ituri.

The WHO chief highlighted that over 80 percent of new cases were being detected “outside known contact lists, showing that transmission chains are still being missed”.

He added that 377 people have recovered from Ebola in the DRC, “showing that with early diagnosis and safe care, this disease can be survived and stopped”.

To compound problems in Ituri, healthcare workers began a strike and blocked the entrance to Bunia General Hospital on Wednesday. Staff said they had not received any compensation for their work since the outbreak began, despite working under extremely difficult conditions.

In Uganda, things were looking up as its last remaining Ebola patient was discharged on Thursday, starting a 42-day countdown after which it can ⁠⁠be declared Ebola-free, said the East African nation’s health ministry.

Uganda had 20 cases of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola since mid-May. Fifteen were people infected in the DRC who then travelled to Uganda.

Unlike the surging number of infections in DRC, Uganda has not reported a new case since June 22 .

“Today, Uganda has discharged the last Ebola patient, a Congolese national who has successfully recovered and [is] ⁠⁠ready to be with his family,” Uganda’s health ministry posted on X.

“Uganda starts ‌‌counting down. If 42 days pass without a single new case, WHO guidelines stipulate ‌‌that we will be declared Ebola-free.”

Walkout over late payments comes as public health officials confirm that the virus has reached two more provinces.

Staff at a hospital treating Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have gone on strike, alleging they have not been paid for months, bringing the facility to a standstill.

Dozens of employees at Rwampara General Hospital in Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, walked off the job on Monday. The strike action came as authorities revealed that the virus has spread to two further provinces in northern DRC.

The striking workers included epidemiologists, case investigators, drivers and gravediggers.

“We don’t know how it is possible to not have been paid for two months,” Bahati Claude, a health worker at the centre, told The Associated Press.

The outbreak, concentrated in northern DRC, is the worst in Africa’s history and has already caused severe economic damage, pushing nearly one million people into poverty, according to the United Nations.

Efforts to hold back the spread of the virus have been complicated by the presence of paramilitary rebels, who control parts of the region in a bid to access its valuable mineral deposits.

The response to the outbreak has also been complicated by misinformation, deeply rooted burial practices and a lack of trust in health officials.

Health workers have been attacked by communities that believe the disease is a form of witchcraft, while bereaved families have ignored safety protocols by holding traditional burial ceremonies.

DRC’s National Public Health Institute confirmed on Sunday that the virus has spread to two new northeastern provinces: Haut-Uele and Tshopo.

The World Health Organization has warned that an accelerated response from local, national and international partners is urgently needed to bring the outbreak under control.

DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said last week that the government was working to resolve the payroll issues and ensure employees were paid.

“We must ensure that these payments reach the right people,” Kamba said. “We have faced a few challenges, notably changes to the lists, which have led to complaints from people saying they are not being paid even though they are working. We have the means to sort this out.”

According to the latest figures, the number of Ebola cases in the DRC has risen to 1,926, with 702 deaths. The spread of the disease to Haut-Uele and Tshopo means five provinces now have confirmed Ebola cases.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned that the situation is worsening in areas already affected as transmission accelerates, while the risk of the disease spreading to neighbouring South Sudan is increasing as the outbreak expands into new areas.

Meanwhile, a second United States citizen infected with Ebola was admitted to a special isolation unit at Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany on Monday. Timo Wolf, head of the special isolation unit, said the patient’s condition was “currently stable”.

The man, who is in his 60s, was confirmed to have contracted the disease on Friday while working for a Christian aid group in the DRC.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo may be significantly larger than official figures indicate, with most new infections occurring outside known chains of transmission, raising concerns that health authorities are struggling to keep pace with the spread of the virus.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 80% of newly confirmed Ebola patients in the outbreak’s epicentre are not identified through existing contact-tracing networks, suggesting widespread undetected community transmission.

The outbreak, declared in mid-May, has officially infected 1,792 people and killed 625, according to Congolese government figures released on Thursday. However, WHO modelling indicates the true number of infections could be two to four times higher.

WHO Emergencies Director Chikwe Ihekweazu told Reuters that in Bunia, the centre of the outbreak in Ituri province, four out of every five newly confirmed cases are emerging outside the lists of people already being monitored after exposure to infected patients.

Public health experts view contact tracing as one of the most effective tools for controlling Ebola. When large numbers of patients are not linked to known cases, it suggests the virus is circulating undetected in the community, making containment much more difficult.

In contrast, neighbouring North Kivu province has shown encouraging progress, with nearly all new infections occurring among previously identified contacts.

Transmission remains concentrated in eastern Congo

Around 90% of all confirmed cases remain concentrated in Ituri province, particularly in the health zones of Bunia, Rwampara, Mongbwalu and Nyakunde, where transmission remains intense.

The outbreak has nevertheless expanded beyond its original epicentre, reaching North Kivu, South Kivu and more recently Tshopo province.

In Bunia—a city of roughly one million people about half of all individuals tested for Ebola receive positive results, reflecting sustained community transmission.

Milder symptoms may be helping the virus spread

Health officials believe the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak may produce milder symptoms than other Ebola variants.

While this appears to improve survival prospects for patients who eventually reach treatment centres, it may also encourage infected individuals to remain at home longer or seek medical attention later, unknowingly spreading the virus to family members and the wider community.

According to WHO, prolonged delays before isolation increase opportunities for transmission.

Community deaths remain another major concern. An analysis of the first 400 Ebola fatalities found that roughly 70% occurred outside designated treatment centres, highlighting continued challenges in identifying patients early enough to provide care and prevent further spread.

Health authorities expand surveillance

To improve detection, Congolese authorities have begun training approximately 21,000 community health workers to conduct door-to-door visits, identify suspected infections and encourage symptomatic individuals to seek medical treatment.

Officials hope stronger community surveillance will help uncover hidden chains of transmission and improve contact tracing, which remains the cornerstone of Ebola control efforts.

Hidden transmission is the outbreak’s biggest threat

The most alarming aspect of Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak is not simply the number of confirmed cases but the large proportion of infections occurring outside established surveillance networks. When 80% of new patients are unknown to contact tracers, it indicates the virus is spreading faster than health authorities can detect it.

Although the Bundibugyo strain may cause comparatively milder illness, that characteristic presents a paradox: fewer severely ill patients can reduce public perception of risk, delaying diagnosis and allowing infected individuals to remain in the community longer. Combined with high rates of deaths occurring outside treatment facilities, these trends point to persistent gaps in surveillance rather than failures of medical treatment.

The rapid expansion of community health worker programmes reflects recognition that traditional outbreak response measures alone may not be sufficient. Unless surveillance improves and hidden transmission chains are identified quickly, the outbreak is likely to remain substantially larger than official figures suggest, complicating efforts to bring it under control.

With information from Reuters.

The number of deaths comes as healthcare workers threaten to walk off the job over a delay in payments.

At least 600 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have died from Ebola, as the number of confirmed cases of the illness rose to 1,759, according to government data.

The total numbers, released on Wednesday, were confirmed as of Tuesday, while 51 new cases and 20 deaths were recorded in the previous 24 hours.

The total of those infected does not include two cases of illness reported in Kisangani, the capital of the Tshopo province and one of the DRC’s biggest cities, as the test results were being validated, the government’s report said. They will be included in the official case total once confirmed.

One of those two cases is linked to the village of Nia-Nia in the Ituri province, where the first illnesses were reported. But the second illness “does not appear to have a geographic link” beyond Kisangani, according to the government.

As the situation worsens, healthcare workers in the Ituri province, the hardest-hit of the country’s three eastern regions affected by the outbreak, are walking off their jobs to protest against delay in payments.

In an official notice to national and provincial authorities over the weekend, front-line workers in Ituri threatened to strike if they were not paid in 24 hours. By Tuesday, some had already stopped working, although no official strike has been declared, The Associated Press news agency reported.

Some of the health professionals and other front-line workers told AP they had not been paid wages or bonuses since the Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15. They also said they were working with limited gear and treated unfairly by authorities and response teams.

“Since the Ebola virus disease outbreak was declared, we’ve been demanding payment for our work,” Dr Biensi Kano, a member of the epidemiological surveillance committee in Ituri’s capital, Bunia, told AP.

The strike comes at the start of the enrolment for clinical trials for the treatment of the Bundibugyo virus, which is responsible for this outbreak. The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is generally considered less deadly than some others, but there is no approved vaccine.

By the time the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May, the virus had already been spreading undetected for weeks through the mining towns of Mongbwalu, Rwampara and Bunia, before reaching neighbouring provinces, Al Jazeera’s Catherine Wambua-Soi reported from the DRC earlier this month.

There is growing anxiety among residents after nine Ebola virus patients escaped from a treatment centre in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after a fire outbreak. Authorities and the local population are deeply concerned that these individuals could spread the Ebola disease to other provinces.

On June 30, nine patients suddenly vanished from the health facility after a group of hostile locals set the Nia-Nia Ebola treatment centre on fire. Among the missing patients are two confirmed cases of Ebola infection and seven suspected cases.

According to Joseph Pemanakue, the chief medical officer of the Nia-Nia treatment centre, the patients have still not been found several hours after fleeing the health facility.

“The burnt-down centre was housing two confirmed positive cases of Ebola as well as seven suspected cases. The nine patients fled from the structure and remain to be tracked down, causing fear of an increased propagation of the epidemic within the community,” Joseph said.

The attack on the treatment facility happened after some members of the community refused to surrender the body of a suspected Ebola patient to the medical team. This confrontation escalated quickly, resulting in the destruction of the treatment centre and the loss of a significant stock of medicine and medical equipment.

The local authorities consider the incident to have seriously compromised the efforts to contain the epidemic in Ituri province.

“Some opinion leaders manipulate the population by affirming that Ebola is a business, whereas the disease actually exists. In PK 51, we have recorded ten deaths. A corpse tested positive was removed from a coffin and transported by the population, an action which increases the risk of spreading the disease. The health facility responsible for taking charge of patients, which was created after several efforts, was unfortunately destroyed,” said Alexis Mungaki, a chief of the Ngayo tribal group.

The incident occurred amid heightened tensions between specific communities and the Ebola treatment teams. Health officials are concerned that the escape of confirmed and suspected patients may trigger new transmission chains, as Ituri province continues to be the focal point of the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC.

June 26 (UPI) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday increased its response level to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

In an update to reporters, Satish Pillai, the Ebola response incidence manager at the CDC, said public health officials were concerned about the rapid increase in and geographic spread of cases of the deadly virus. She said the CDC has upgraded its response to Level 1, making it a top priority.

“Elevating the response level reflects the urgency, scale and complexity of the outbreak, and allows [the] CDC to bring additional resources to support the coordination and operational needs of our response,” Pillai said.

The World Health Organization has confirmed more than 1,000 cases of Ebola and more than 260 deaths from the disease since the outbreak, which began in May. Most of the cases have been reported in eastern DRC, with a smaller number of cases spreading across the border into Uganda.

This Ebola outbreak has been linked to the Bundibugyo virus, making it particularly challenging to treat. Unlike the Ebola-zaire strains of the virus, there are no approved approved therapeutics or vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain, the WHO said.

Ebola was first identified in central Africa in 1976. The virus, which has a two- to 21-day incubation period, causes fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding. It can be transmitted from animals to humans and in human-to-human contact, including sexual intercourse.

While there’s no proven treatment specifically for the virus, people can survive through treatment of the symptoms, including oral and intravenous fluids, and immune and drug therapies.

June 24 (UPI) — A doctor who traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo was being treated for Ebola at a hospital in France, French officials said Wednesday.

The doctor was admitted to a special health facility and is in stable condition, the country’s health ministry said in a statement. Health workers are tracing anyone who may have come into contact with the doctor. Any contacts will be isolated for 21 days and closely monitored.

The DRC has had an outbreak of Ebola in recent months that has rocked the region. Fighting in the area, which has caused displacement, has made the outbreak worse, and the disease has spread into neighboring Uganda.

More than 1,000 cases have been confirmed and more than 260 people have died from the disease.

It’s the first confirmed European case, though an American doctor was treated at a German hospital in May. Dr. Peter Stafford has recovered and been released from the hospital.

The doctor in France works for the Alliance of International Medical Action, which has been working on the Ebola response in Congo, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said in a news conference.

“This case is a reminder of the risks faced by frontline responders,” Tedros said. He added that 82 health care workers have become ill during the outbreak.

Last week the WHO said 17 health workers who had caught Ebola in Congo had died.

ALIMA said the ill doctor is a man who had been working in an area where the virus is.

“Contamination prevention measures have been in place since the beginning of our intervention to protect our teams,” ALIMA said in a statement.

The French health ministry said the risk of spreading the disease to the wider European population was low, citing the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Ebola spreads only through direct contact with the bodily fluids of a sick person.

France has confirmed its first Ebola case in the country during the current outbreak, as a doctor returning from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo tested positive, French health authorities said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the French Health Ministry said the healthcare worker was operating in one of the areas where the virus was circulating.

“The patient is being treated at a leading healthcare facility, following strict biosafety protocols,” the ministry said. “All precautionary measures, including the patient’s isolation, were implemented upon arrival in France, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to prevent any risk of contamination,” it said.

An epidemiological investigation is under way to identify individuals who may have been in contact with the patient. They will be contacted by health authorities to self-isolate for 21 days, the statement added.

Since May, the northeastern Ituri province of the DRC has been the epicentre of an Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 260 people and infected more than a thousand so far in the central African country. Cases have also been reported in neighbouring Uganda.

On May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”.

Most previous Ebola outbreaks in DRC were caused by a virus called Ebola Zaire, but this outbreak is caused by a different strain called Bundibugyo, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.

Kenya stops constructing US-run Ebola site amid public outcry; $13.5m US funding is criticised as masking health risks.

Kenya has ordered a halt to preparations for a United States-run Ebola quarantine facility, the health minister has told a court after being held in contempt for ignoring a previous stop-work order.

The announcement on Tuesday comes amid strong opposition to the plan in Kenya. Deadly protests have taken place since the government confirmed plans to build the facility for potential US citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), which is grappling with a major Ebola outbreak.

The quarantine facility was being constructed at Laikipia airbase, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the capital, Nairobi, with some 50 isolation beds. It was expected to be managed by US medical staff.

“I have directed the immediate and complete cessation of any intended construction, site preparation, or related activities concerning the Laikipia airbase facility pending the hearing and determination of the substantive petition or until further orders of this court,” Health Minister Aden Duale said.

The minister spoke in court a day after he was held in contempt for failing to respond to multiple orders in late May and early June to halt activities.

Rights groups had petitioned the court, saying the facility was being developed secretly and without consultation. Kenyan doctors and medical professionals have been especially outspoken about the proposed Nanyuki site, arguing it would threaten the country’s already fragile health system.

Three people have been killed in unrest near the facility in Laikipia.

Civilians and healthcare workers have expressed anger over the prospect of importing the virus and criticised the Kenyan government’s acceptance of a $13.5m Ebola preparedness contribution from the US as whitewashing the deal. So far, the country has not recorded a case of Ebola.

The Ebola outbreak was confirmed in DR Congo in May. It has led to 1,048 confirmed cases and at least 267 deaths as of June 22, according to the Health Ministry. At least 75 healthcare workers in DRC have contracted the virus, with 17 deaths recorded.

Uganda – which neighbours Kenya – has reported 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths.

Aid cuts and poor sanitation are deepening fears that Ebola is spreading through displacement camps.

Seventeen medics have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the death toll surpasses 200 in an outbreak tearing through a health system already weakened by years of conflict, displacement and chronic underfunding.

A senior World Health Organization (WHO) official confirmed the death toll on Friday and said that 75 healthcare workers had contracted the virus since Congolese authorities declared the outbreak on May 15 .

“The outbreak remains serious” and is “evolving so fast”, said WHO emergency director Marie Roseline Belizaire.

“It is a really high price that the system, the healthcare system, is paying, because we don’t have enough of healthcare workers in DRC,” she told reporters by video link from the outbreak epicentre in eastern DRC.

Health officials believe the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola had been spreading for months before the government formally announced the outbreak, leaving doctors, nurses and other medical staff exposed before they knew the virus was present.

Even now, basic protective equipment remains in short supply, with some facilities struggling to secure gloves, masks and other essentials needed to limit infection.

The DRC has one of the world’s lowest ratios of healthcare workers to population, with about 11 health workers for every 10,000 people, according to WHO data. Belizaire said China and Uganda were sending medical teams to support the response.

She added that the WHO was providing psychological support to medics who feared treating patients after seeing colleagues fall sick.

“When they are explaining to you how they live it, how they were infected … [it] can break your heart.”

Outbreak yet to reach its peak

Congolese authorities said on Thursday that the outbreak has killed 232 people and infected 896 others across 31 health zones in the country.

African Union member states have pledged nearly $1bn to respond to the emergency in eastern DRC and neighbouring Uganda, which has confirmed 19 cases and two deaths.

Health officials warn that the outbreak has not yet reached its peak.

The crisis is also raising alarm in camps for displaced people, where overcrowding, poor sanitation and resistance to testing could allow the virus to spread undetected.

At least 30 people have died since early May in Kigonze camp in Bunia in Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak. Camp officials described the death rate as unprecedented.

Authorities could not confirm the causes of death because patients and relatives had refused testing of both the living and the dead until Thursday, according to a camp spokesperson and aid organisation Caritas.

But witnesses and aid sources told Reuters that the dead had symptoms linked to Ebola, including headaches, fever and vomiting.

“People didn’t just die like this before,” camp spokesperson Desire Grodya Bapi told Reuters.

Kigonze is home to more than 15,000 people. The rising number of deaths there has increased fears that Ebola may be spreading among the more than five million displaced people in eastern DRC.

Aid workers say funding cuts have made the emergency more dangerous. Donors, including the United States under President Donald Trump, have reduced support for water, hygiene, and sanitation programmes, which are vital in fighting the disease spread through bodily fluids.

UN data shows funding for toilets and handwashing stations in DRC more than halved between 2024 and 2025, falling to about $38m. This year’s $80m appeal is only 21 percent funded.

DRC has hundreds of displacement camps, some housing up to 100,000 people. Ebola deaths have already been recorded in another camp in Ituri province, which accounts for more than 90 percent of nearly 900 confirmed cases.

The ⁠number of confirmed cases in ⁠the country has ​increased to 837, including 196 deaths.

The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could become deadlier than the worst outbreak on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, says the head of Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

⁠The ⁠number of confirmed cases in ⁠the country has increased to 837, including 196 deaths, ‌government data showed on Tuesday.

“If we don’t stop the outbreak very soon, it will be worse than what we had in West Africa and eastern DRC,” Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said during a virtual meeting of African leaders and international donors in Burundi on Tuesday.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Kaseya said tens of thousands of people who may have been exposed to Ebola had not yet been traced or contacted.

“The contact tracing is a major indicator and a major issue. We are missing more than 26,000 people, and we don’t know where they are, and we don’t know if they are contaminating other people.”

A ⁠Red Cross official said that the epidemic had not yet peaked in the country.

“We ⁠are afraid that this could last one year to end this disease,” Bruno Michon, operations manager for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said.

The response has been hampered by a lack of treatment centres and by community resistance to stringent hygiene measures. Health officials said that, more than a month since ⁠the outbreak was declared, the true scale was still unknown.

The bodies of ⁠Ebola victims are highly infectious after death, and unsafe traditional burials – in which family members handle ⁠the body without proper protective equipment – are a leading driver of transmission.

So far, the continent has raised less than a fifth of the $518 million it is seeking to bolster measures to contain the outbreak, according to Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who also chairs the African Union.

The shortfall has raised concern among authorities, who fear the consequences could be devastating if the virus is not brought under control quickly.

There is no approved treatment or vaccine for this strain of Ebola. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it could take up to nine months for a vaccine to be ready.

Neighbouring Uganda has recorded 19 cases, 14 of them among people who had travelled from the DRC. The country has also reported two deaths.

WASHINGTON — While millions of soccer fans cheer or groan over World Cup matches spanning North America, health officials are on high alert for germs.

A heat wave may be the most obvious health threat. But infectious diseases can spread in a crowd, and experts are scrutinizing wastewater, hospital visits, even social media for any signs that an outbreak might be brewing.

Measles, one of the most contagious diseases, is among the top concerns, sparking a warning this week from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO. With a nearly six-week stretch of packed stadiums, bars and tourist sites in 16 cities, officials are on the lookout for a long list of infections, from the stomach bug norovirus to mosquito-borne dengue fever.

“This is truly a marathon,” said Palak Raval-Nelson, Philadelphia’s health commissioner.

The mass gatherings come at a tense moment for budget-strapped health agencies in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hit hard by Trump administration staffing cuts, already was grappling with a growing Ebola outbreak in central Africa and a cruise ship hantavirus outbreak. While CDC officials have advised state and local health departments behind the scenes, it’s expected World Cup disease surveillance dashboard still was “in final development” days before games began, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Our public health professionals are pretty stretched,” said global health specialist Rebecca Katz of Georgetown University, who is leading an unusual new hub to help.

At the Health Security Operations Center, a joint effort between Georgetown and MedStar Health, workers are analyzing data from around the country so they can alert health authorities, even emergency rooms, to any early signs of trouble. The center is issuing daily “situation reports” about disease trends around World Cup host cities and team base camps to several hundred local and federal public health groups, emergency management and hospital officials and others who’ve signed up.

“It’s important that we don’t become alarmist,” said MedStar emergency medicine specialist Dr. Shane Kappler. “We’re trying to be the insurance policy.”

Measles is a top concern for potential World Cup spread

Already more than 2,000 people in the U.S. have come down with measles this year, nearly as many as during all of last year, according to the CDC. Patients can spread measles before the rash appears and they realize they’re sick. Not too long ago, the U.S. seldom saw measles except from international travel by unvaccinated people.

Now with frequent U.S. outbreaks, “actually a lot of our international partners are worried about measles being exported to them after the games,” said Georgetown’s Katz.

Measles is spreading in Canada, too, and has exceeded 11,000 cases in Mexico, according to PAHO. It’s urging soccer fans to be sure they’re vaccinated, with a health campaign saying a single measles patient can spread the virus to up to 18 unprotected people.

Is Ebola a concern at the World Cup?

Brown University’s Dr. Craig Spencer, who survived Ebola while working in the West Africa outbreak over a decade ago, said he’s repeatedly asked about the risk of Ebola during the World Cup — but “for me, Ebola is not the No. 1 or No. 2 or even No. 3 threat.”

“I am concerned about importation of measles, I am much more concerned about the importation of other infectious threats that may not seem as scary to us as Ebola,” Spencer said.

Many health experts agree that the risk of Ebola spreading in the U.S. is very low. That’s partly because of government travel screenings and restrictions on people recently in outbreak-affected areas. Moreover, Ebola spreads by contact with bodily fluids from someone showing symptoms, not through the air like measles or respiratory viruses.

“One fortunate thing about this virus is you’re most contagious when you’re really quite ill. It’s not like COVID, where you could be sitting next to someone who doesn’t even know they’re infected and perhaps contract the virus,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of Brown’s Pandemic Center.

How to spot brewing diseases

There’s precedent for germs invading major sporting events. Canadian scientists linked a community measles outbreak to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and clusters of norovirus had to be contained during the Olympics this year in Milan and in 2018 in South Korea.

One way to detect signs of trouble: People with certain viral or bacterial infections shed genetic material that sophisticated testing of wastewater can spot. For example, measles can appear in wastewater days before an emergency room sees its first patients.

A recent surveillance reports from Katz’s center note that wastewater testing recently found diarrhea-causing rotavirus, hepatitis A and norovirus in some parts of the U.S., something to watch as soccer crowds arrive.

In Dallas, officials ramped up wastewater screening including at the international airport, casting a wide net rather than looking for specific illnesses, said Dr. Phil Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services.

His team also is enhancing the usual mosquito testing, checking not just for West Nile virus that regularly spreads in the U.S. but for viruses more common in other countries like dengue and chikungunya.

Public health officials have been preparing for months, said Philadelphia’s Raval-Nelson, including with mock emergency drills and communications with counterparts around the country.

“I don’t want to send a message that there’s one key thing,” she said. “We have the frameworks in place to carry out what we need to.”

Neergaard writes for the Associated Press.

The outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus strain has reached 782 confirmed cases.

The number of confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s Ebola outbreak has surged to 782, with 178 deaths, marking one of the largest daily jumps so far as regional conflict, patient escapes, and limited contact tracing undermine containment efforts.

The Ministry of Public Health confirmed 72 new cases on Sunday over the previous 24 hours, a record single-day increase, with 29 additional deaths.

The Bundibugyo virus strain has a 22.8 percent death rate so far, with 40 patients recovering, officials said.

“We remain committed to supporting affected countries until transmission is stopped. We call on partners and donors to urgently mobilise resources to strengthen the response and save lives,” Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Sunday.

The outbreak stems from the rare Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, unlike the Zaire virus responsible for the DRC’s previous 16 Ebola outbreaks.

Contact tracing coverage has plummeted to 56.5 percent, a sharp decline from the 95% target, Health Ministry officials said.

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, warned that “no one knows the true scale” of the outbreak due to dangerous gaps in surveillance and testing.

Eastern Ituri province remains the outbreak’s epicentre, harbouring nearly 95 percent of all confirmed cases. The virus has since breached into North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and spread across the border to Uganda.

Ituri’s humanitarian crisis exacerbates the medical emergency. Nearly one million residents have fled overlapping armed conflicts involving multiple groups, including the M23 rebel movement that controls Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. The area has endured decades of instability, with United Nations reports documenting massacres of more than 100 civilians in gold-rich Ituri villages as various factions vie for control of the region’s mineral wealth.

Thousands of artisanal miners routinely shuttle between clandestine mining sites scattered across the mineral-dense region, creating transmission hotspots that evade health monitoring. The outbreak is believed to have originated in the mining-intensive Mongbwalu Health Zone in Ituri province.

The World Health Organization announced it is ramping up diagnostic testing and contact surveillance operations. However, MSF reports a critical funding gap of $21.5m hampering response efforts.

Supported by the World Health Organization and Africa CDC, India has taken on the urgent and unique task to engage in the production of a vaccine for the Ebola virus, the deadly disease that broke out in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May 2026. Following the Ebola infection cases, many countries have broader steps to reinforce disease surveillance and strict border control mechanisms amid rising regional risks, especially in the Central African region.

WHO declared, in May, the outbreak a ‘public health emergency’ of international concern, underscoring the need for monitoring measures of cross-border human movements and the possibility to control transmission. Many countries have adopted and reviewed screening procedures and coordination designed to detect and contain any suspected cases.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) is partnering with the University of Oxford and CEPI to develop a new vaccine candidate targeting the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. Because no approved vaccines currently exist for this specific strain, the SII is fast-tracking production using the viral vector platform. 

Fast-Tracked Vaccine Development

The Target: The vaccine candidate (ChAdOx1 BDBV) is designed to prevent the rare Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which is currently causing outbreaks in Central Africa.

The Technology: It utilizes the same viral vector platform used for the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, allowing for rapid scaling and manufacturing once the clinical-grade material is ready. 

Timeline: The World Health Organization (WHO) has fast-tracked the assessment process, with clinical-grade doses expected to be available for trial testing. 

Indian Preparedness & Protocols

Zero Active Cases: India has not reported any active cases of the Ebola virus.

Preventive Measures: Indian health authorities and airports have placed specialized facilities on high alert. This includes preventive screening and isolation protocols for any suspected cases or individuals traveling from affected regions like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Global efforts accelerate vaccine development.

Scientists and vaccine manufacturers are now racing to design, test, manufacture, and deploy vaccines that could help prevent this outbreak from persisting for several years, as previous outbreaks have. Medical experts across the world maintain that the Ebola epidemic is a global threat. 

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus flew to the DRC and visited the province of Ituri. After the visit, he said, “A Bundibugyo vaccine could help to control this epidemic and strengthen preparedness for future outbreaks.”

Notwithstanding the challenges, Ghebreyesus expressed confidence and optimism that the outbreak would be stopped. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention director general Jean Kaseya later confirmed that the vaccines will be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, underscoring the growing confidence to ensure health sovereignty and to contain further spread of Ebola.

Different virus, different challenge

Since the outbreak, over 1500 suspected cases and 650 deaths have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. According to medical reports, this newest outbreak is being caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a more recently discovered species that is less lethal than Zaire but has no approved vaccines or treatments. With the majority of cases impacting the DRC, this marks the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak since the discovery of the virus on the Ebola River in 1976. 

Despite the huge untapped resources, the world’s deadliest and most complex humanitarian crises have been unfolding for decades in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in central Africa.

Gunshots, water cannon and tear gas have been used by Kenya’s police in the central town of Nanyuki, where hundreds of protesters lit fires and hurled stones at law enforcement officers as they demonstrated against a quarantine centre for US citizens exposed to Ebola.

Tuesday’s violence came as the proposed quarantine centre at the town’s Laikipia Air Base has caused anger among Kenyans who accuse the United States of shifting the risks of caring for people exposed to the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda onto Kenya.

Kenya has never recorded a case of Ebola, and many residents oppose bringing potential carriers of the virus into the country.

The centre is designed to have 50 isolation beds, run by US staff, and was nearing completion late last week.

Construction has continued despite a temporary halt order from Kenya’s High Court and vocal opposition from local politicians.

President William Ruto’s government has pledged to press ahead with the project, arguing that Kenya owes Washington for years of financial and technical support.

The US has committed $13.5m to support Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts.

Kenyan President William Ruto said allowing the US to build an Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya was the “right thing”. At least two people were killed this week in protests against the facility, which is being built on a US air force base for Americans exposed to the virus.

A fast-growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has crossed borders, raising alarms far beyond Central Africa. This time, the virus is a strain with no approved vaccine or treatment. As cases rise and governments scramble to respond, can the outbreak be contained before it spreads further?

In this episode: 

• Catherine Soi (@cate_soi), Al Jazeera Correspondent

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé and Sarí el-Khalili with Spencer Cline, Tamara Khandaker, Jana Dabliz, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Rick Rush mixed this episode. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. 

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June 1 (UPI) — Hundreds of residents in central Kenya marched Monday in protest of plans for a U.S.-run field hospital in which Americans exposed to Ebola would be treated and quarantined.

Officers from the U.S. Public Health Service would run the facility at Laikipia Air Base near Nanyuki, Kenya. The hospital was supposed to open last Friday. However, a Kenyan court blocked that opening, with another hearing set for Tuesday, The Washington Post reported.

Kenya has had no cases of Ebola in this outbreak thus far, but there have been about 1,000 cases worldwide, with about 200 suspected deaths, mostly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kenya has increased screening and security measures to lessen the risk of the disease spreading to the country.

Nanyuki residents said the hospital facility would endanger the lives of those living nearby.

“If it is not good for America, why is it good for us? Why does the U.S. only care about itself?” Gibson Maina, 25, said to The Washington Post. “The moment we get sick people here, how sure are we that we will be able to contain the disease and that we will be able to survive it?”

The protests were largely peaceful with “localized disruptions,” Capital News in Kenya reported. The Post, however, said some demonstrators set fires and “clashed with the police.”

Officials have said the hospital would keep U.S. citizens with Ebola from returning to the United States for treatment. Katiba Institute, a constitutional rights advocacy group in Kenya, filed the lawsuit that blocked the facility from opening.

The Law Society of Kenya has also opposed the hospital, Capital News reported. Charles Kanjama, leader of the society, said that Ebola treatment centers should be closed to the outbreaks and not in countries with no cases.

“We owe patients human solidarity, but public health requires facilities to be placed near outbreak epicenters,” Kanjama said.

Sarah Korere, a local leader, also said such a hospital should be closer to the problem areas.

“As residents of Nanyuki, we have said we do not want the Ebola rescue center in Nanyuki,” she said to Capital News. “And it’s not just Nanyuki; we’ve said we do not want it in Laikipia, and not yet Laikipia, we don’t want it in Kenya.”

Kenyan Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said any international agreement for Ebola treatment facilities must comply with Kenyan laws and public health protocols. The United States said in a statement last week that it was in talks with Kenyan officials after the lawsuit.

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has vowed not to shut down schools in Ituri province, despite the ongoing Ebola outbreak, which has already killed five schoolchildren since the epidemic began. The government announced the decision on Thursday, May 28, during a press briefing by the Minister of Public Health, Roger Kamba. 

Roger noted at the press briefing that the government’s focus is on enhancing preventive measures in schools rather than shutting them down. 

“We are not going to close schools. Our priority is to implement preventive measures to avoid further hardships for the children,” the Minister insisted. He expressed concern over the five schoolchildren who lost their lives, noting that many of these fatalities were related to self-medication and delays in accessing medical care.

Meanwhile, Congolese health officials had urged families to refrain from treating suspected cases at home and to seek medical help promptly. The officials warned amid heightened health monitoring in Ituri, where local authorities and partners are ramping up awareness campaigns to curb the spread of the virus.

The current outbreak spans three provinces: Ituri, South Kivu, and North Kivu, affecting 13 health zones. As of May 26, Ituri province reported 16 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 121 confirmed cases and 17 deaths. “We know the outbreak in the DR Congo is more extensive, with over 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths,” stated WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus.

Tedros had earlier warned that the current Ebola epidemic affecting parts of the DRC  is attributed to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, stressing that there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment available. While discussing the troubling elements contributing to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, Tedros said that, unlike earlier strains such as Zaire Ebola, which have effective medical solutions, the Bundibugyo strain poses a significant challenge due to the absence of preventive vaccines and effective treatments. 

The lack of medical options raises serious epidemiological concerns, with the WHO director reporting around 600 suspected cases and 139 fatalities. The numbers are likely to increase, as the virus may have been spreading undetected for some time. 

The virus has infiltrated multiple urban areas, and healthcare workers have also been impacted, increasing the risk of transmission nationwide. The situation is further complicated by regional security issues, particularly in Ituri province, which has faced significant violence since late 2025, displacing thousands of people. This area is a resource-rich mining zone with a highly mobile population, contributing to a heightened risk of virus spread.

Given the lack of validated treatments, however,  the WHO is investigating potential vaccines and therapeutics for widespread use. Tedros has called upon the international community to take action, stressing that the five identified risk factors, including population movement, transmission within health facilities, and urban expansion, could collectively worsen the epidemic’s impact on public health. 

Women in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are disproportionately impacted by Ebola as shortages of protective gear amid funding cuts accelerate the spread of disease. Al Jazeera’s Imogen Kimber reports how these caregivers to the living and the dead are most at risk.

Workers in eastern DR Congo are rebuilding an Ebola treatment centre that was burned by protesters earlier this month, as health officials warn misinformation is driving families to hide sick relatives. The Congolese government confirmed over 1,000 suspected cases and at least 220 deaths since the outbreak was declared.

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Brits to a number of destinations as a new Ebola outbreak has been declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for a number of countries after an Ebola outbreak earlier this month in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

On May 15, the country’s Ministry of Health confirmed an outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo in the North-Eastern Ituri Province, while cases have also been confirmed in Uganda. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has since declared Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

As a result, a number of destinations to introduce stricter measures for travellers from health screenings for foreign nationals to quarantine for residents in certain cases.

For example, Kenya has introduced enhanced health screenings for passengers arriving from Uganda, Ethiopia, and DRC, while Tanzania has also introduced increase public health measures for incoming travellers.

Now the Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Uganda, Angola and the Central African Republic, with warnings around new health screenings and entry requirements for anyone travelling to those destinations.

In its Angola advice, it warns: “On 15 May the Democratic Republic of Congo Ministry of Health announced an outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo in the North-Eastern Ituri Province. Read more about the Ebola outbreak on TravelHealth Pro and see information on Ebola and similar diseases. World Health Organisation (WHO) have declared this a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Due to the outbreak, you may experience heightened health screening at international borders in the region. Check entry requirements for the country you’re travelling to or transiting.”

The Foreign Office has already been advising “against all travel to parts of Central African Republic” before the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, but has updated its advice due to the country sharing a border with the DRC.

Virginia Messina, Group CEO of African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA), said: “Established protocols are in place within countries bordering the DRC and as a result tourism operations and business trips across the wider African continent continue normally. As of 27 May, no other cases have been detected outside of Uganda and DRC. The risk to travellers on standard itineraries outside affected areas remains very low, and it’s important to highlight that Ebola is not easily transmitted through casual contact.

“However, travel rules and screening measures may change quickly. The WHO (World Health Organisation) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) are scaling up efforts to contain the virus but continue to advise against blanket travel restrictions and neither the UK, nor any European country has introduced entry bans.”