Overview
- Carers and medics said a newborn named Buswaza who arrived at a church-run orphanage in Bunia died and later tested positive for Ebola, prompting testing and isolation of other children at the facility.
- One orphan triplet nicknamed Cherie is a confirmed Ebola patient and remains hospitalized with worsening condition according to hospital staff.
- Six other infants from the orphanage were treated as suspected cases; five later tested negative and were discharged from isolation while three carers, including a nun, have tested positive.
- The outbreak in Ituri has grown rapidly along mining and travel routes, crossed into Uganda, and prompted a WHO and Africa CDC emergency plan with fast-tracked trials for vaccines and therapies.
- Response teams say testing delays, limited isolation capacity, high child malnutrition and local insecurity are worsening risks for children and could drive wider spread if surge support is not scaled up.