Overview
- WHO declared the outbreak an international public health emergency on 16 May, prompting a coordinated global response and heightened monitoring of neighbouring countries.
- Local rapid 'stick' tests used in Ituri failed to detect the Bundibugyo species for weeks, and confirmatory testing in Kinshasa was needed to identify the variant.
- Africa CDC reports the outbreak remains concentrated in northeastern DRC with limited spillover to Uganda and has logged over a thousand suspected cases and more than 250 deaths according to agency briefings.
- Two vaccine candidates are being fast-tracked: an Oxford/Serum Institute product that may be ready for early testing in roughly 2–3 months and an IAVI candidate that the WHO estimates could need 7–9 months before human trials.
- Pledged international funding has fallen from about $500 million to roughly $290 million, a shortfall Africa CDC says is undermining response capacity in conflict-affected areas even as the first patient recovery was reported and treatments are evaluated.