Overview
- The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17 and raised the DRC’s national risk to “very high” on May 22.
- WHO reports show 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths in the DRC with nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, while Uganda has confirmed five cases.
- The outbreak is caused by the uncommon Bundibugyo ebolavirus for which there are no licensed vaccines or proven therapies, so WHO has fast‑tracked two monoclonal antibodies (Regeneron 3479 and MBP134) and the antiviral obeldesivir for rapid clinical testing.
- Response efforts are falling behind because standard point‑of‑care tests often miss Bundibugyo, contact tracers reached roughly 21% of listed contacts on a reported day, and responders face attacks on treatment sites and armed insecurity that force patients to flee.
- Countries are tightening border screening and restricting travel while international agencies airlift supplies and prepare emergency trials, with the key risks to watch being further spread into large cities and whether trials and expanded lab capacity can be deployed quickly enough to slow transmission.