virus

The World Health Organisation (WHO), a United Nations specialised agency, has declared the resurgence of the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a case of international concern. Following the declaration of the 17th Ebola epidemic in Ituri province on Saturday, May 16, the WHO announced that the resurgence is attributed to the Bundibugyo strain found in both the DRC and Uganda. 

Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO’s Director General, said the declaration is based on several elements, notably the high level of positivity of the first samples of tests, the already documented propagation outside Congolese borders, as well as the absence of a vaccine or approved treatment against the specific strain. He noted that the current epidemic does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency at this time. 

The recent Ebola virus outbreak is occurring in an area of the country plagued by violence against civilians, which is linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, who continue to inflict suffering on the local population despite ongoing joint military efforts by the Congolese armed forces and the Ugandan Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF). In addition to the joint operations, various local militia groups are also active, including the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO), the Zaire faction, the Convention pour la Revolution Populaire (CRP), and others. This situation has deteriorated the humanitarian conditions in this region of the DRC, leading to a significant displacement of people.

However, the government of Rwanda, through its Ministry of Health, has said it is closely monitoring the resurgence of the Ebola epidemic in the DRC’s Ituri province, noting that no cases of the virus have been detected in Rwanda so far. The government noted that it has taken some measures, including increased vigilance on border posts with the DRC.

“As a precautionary measure, Rwanda has reinforced the testing and vigilance at entry points situated along the border with the DR Congo. Health teams have been mobilised, and the surveillance systems have been reinforced in order to ensure early detection and a rapid intervention in case of need”, the Rwanda Ministry of Health announced in a statement dated May 17.

Sabin Nsanzimana, the country’s Minister of Public Health, who is also an epidemiologist, noted that his ministry would continue to collaborate with national, regional, and international partners to protect the health and security of the Rwandan population.

The epidemic in Ituri province arose nearly six months after the Congolese government announced the end of the 16th Ebola epidemic in Kasai province on Dec. 1, 2025. Following the recovery of the last patient on Oct. 19, 2025, no cases were recorded during the subsequent 42 days.

However, Roger Kambathe, DRC’s Minister of Public Health, Hygiene, and Social Welfare, rejected speculations in the country’s socio-political circles that the resurgence of the Ebola virus is due to negligence on the part of relevant health infrastructure and authorities. During a press conference on Saturday, May 16, the minister addressed accusations of failure in the sanitary surveillance system to manage alerts about the new Ebola epidemic in Ituri.

“You have said something that surprises me. You have said: ‘What did not work, the epidemic has been here for one month and you did not react’. I want to remind you that there was a patient, a nurse, who died in Bunia of an illness which was not reported. I gave the date: 24th April,” the minister said, clarifying that the corpse was eventually transferred to Mungwalu, where local traditional funeral rites caused the propagation of the virus.

“It was during the funeral ceremony that people were crying, thinking that the nurse died from a mysterious disease and touching the corpse, that cases of the virus started appearing,” Roger noted, adding that the first official notification of the virus was on May 5. “This first social notification was through social networks.”

“Three days afterwards, our teams made the official notification. Samples were taken”, the minister continued and stressed that the first analysis did not permit the identification of the particular Ebola strain. “We first researched the Zaire strain, but the results were negative.”

He also said samples were eventually sent to the national biomedical research institute in Kinshasa for complementary analyses, “and it was before yesterday that we received the confirmation of another strain. Thus, I do not know why you say ‘what did not work?’”.

Samuel argued that “there is a rule called ‘7-1-7’: be alerted in 7 days, intervene immediately, and post the diagnosis promptly. And that is what was done”. He assured that response measures are currently in place, particularly through logistics and aerial resources. Between May 8 and May 17, aircraft were already dispatched. This spans just under nine days, and the minister stated that the issue does not lie with the system.

One day before the official government communication on May 16, Jean Kaseya, the Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, warned of the high risk of regional spread of the epidemic. Faced with the situation, a high-level regional meeting was convened with the health authorities of the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan, as well as several international partners, including the WHO and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

According to Jean, who is in charge of the African Union’s health agency, the efforts would be centred on strengthening epidemiological surveillance, laboratory capacities, infection control, community engagement, and transborder coordination.

In a related development, measures to fight against the virus are being intensified in Ituri province. At least five tons of medical supplies were sent to Bunia on Sunday, May 17, to support teams fighting the virus. The material arrived at Murongo airport aboard a humanitarian flight, coordinated by the WHO and its partners. On arrival in Bunia, Anne Ancia, WHO representative in DRC, confirmed that the logistical support aims to urgently reinforce response capacities in the zones affected by the epidemic. According to her, the situation requires rapid mobilisation and coordination to prevent the disease from spreading further in the province, which is already weakened by insecurity and population displacement.

“We call on the population to collaborate with the health teams, to rapidly report suspected cases and to respect preventive measures. The response cannot succeed without the involvement of the community”, Anne Ancia charged. The equipment, including individual protective gear, tents, and hospital beds, would enable intensified frontline interventions, strengthened prevention, and infection control to protect communities in the affected zones.

This medical assistance comes while several suspected cases and deaths linked to Ebola have been reported in certain health zones of Ituri, notably in Rwampara and Bunia, forcing the health authorities to reinforce the surveillance and prevention measures. On the ground, medical teams continue community sensitisation, follow-up contacts, and the installation of health control mechanisms to limit the chain of transmission.

A high number of cases were reported in the last 12 months – with a 5-fold increase in some areas – and 143 deaths

Travellers have been warned about the resurgence of a disease spread by mosquitos with ‘high risk’ in 42 countries. The Foreign Office-backed Travel Health Pro website this week issued an alert over the virus spreading in parts of Africa, Central and South America, and in Trinidad in the Caribbean.

Yellow Fever can cause a serious haemorrhagic illness that can be fatal for humans. Yellow fever vaccination and mosquito bite avoidance are important preventive measures against the disease, officials said. Yellow fevefr virus can cause an illness that results in jaundice , yellowing of the skin and eyes, and bleeding with severe damage to the major organs such as liver, kidneys and heart. The mortality rate is high in those who develop severe disease.

Travel Health Pro said yellow fever is a risk in areas of 13 countries and territories in South and Central America. A high number of cases were reported from this region in 2025, with 346 confirmed human cases (including 143 deaths) from seven countries.

This represents a 5.6-fold increase in cases compared to 2024. Since the beginning of 2026, a total of 41 confirmed cases (including 18 deaths) have been reported from four countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

In 2024, most yellow fever cases were reported from the Amazon region. Officials said: “While YF cases continue to be reported in this area, cases have since been reported in a wider geographic area, outside the Amazon region. This includes in Sao Paulo State in Brazil and Tolima Department in Colombia. In addition, reports suggest recent human YF cases in Venezuela have occurred in an area that had not previously been considered a risk for YF disease.

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“Risk of YF outbreaks in South America remains high. An outbreak in Colombia has been ongoing since mid-2024, with 153 confirmed cases (including 62 deaths) reported. The confirmed reporting of YF cases in a wider geographic area, including cases related to jungle transmission near to urban centres, increases the risk of urban outbreaks [1]. While YF vaccination is one of the most successful public health interventions to prevent YF disease, the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors, has led to a reduction of YF vaccine cover in the local population.”

It added that yell;ow fever risk countries in Africa continue to report probable and confirmed cases. During 2024, confirmed cases of YF were reported in countries with no recent history of transmission and suboptimal vaccination coverage.

WHO also advise that in some African countries, there may be under-reporting of YF due to surveillance and data collection issues. The risk of YF transmission remains high in endemic areas of Africa. The mosquitoes (Aedes spp.) that transmit YF are common in many urban areas in Africa. This significantly increases the risk of YF spreading, especially in heavily populated areas, which could lead to the rapid onset of YF outbreaks.

Countries with a risk of yellow fever transmission as defined by the World Health Organization

Africa

• Angola
• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad*
• Congo
• Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Ethiopia*
• Gabon
• The Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Kenya*
• Liberia
• Mali*
• Mauritania*
• Niger*
• Nigeria
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• South Sudan
• Sudan*
• Togo
• Uganda

Central and South America

• Argentina*
• Bolivia*
• Brazil*
• Colombia*
• Ecuador*
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• Panama*
• Paraguay*
• Peru*
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago*
• Venezuela*

*Only some parts of this country have a risk of yellow fever disease. Remaining areas either have low potential for yellow fever transmission or no risk.

Signs and symptoms

YF varies in severity. The infection has an incubation period (time from infected mosquito feeding to symptoms developing) of three to six days. Initial symptoms include myalgia (muscle pain), pyrexia (high temperature), headache, anorexia (lack of appetite), nausea, and vomiting. In many patients there will be improvement in symptoms and gradual recovery three to four days after the onset of symptoms.

Within 24 hours of an apparent recovery, 15 to 25 percent of patients progress to a more serious illness. This takes the form of an acute haemorrhagic fever, in which there may be bleeding from the mouth, eyes, ears, and stomach, pronounced jaundice (yellowing of the skin, from which the disease gets its name), and renal (kidney) damage. The patient develops shock and there is deterioration of major organ function; 20 to 50 percent of patients who develop this form of the disease do not survive [22]. Infection results in lifelong immunity in those who recover.