Overview
- The World Health Organization raised the national risk level for the Democratic Republic of Congo to very high on May 22 after officials found the outbreak was spreading faster than response teams could track.
- WHO reported about 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths earlier in the week while DRC bulletins and later reports put the outbreak toll much higher with hundreds of suspected cases and many probable deaths under investigation.
- Response work is being strained because common rapid tests do not detect the Bundibugyo strain and contact tracers followed only about one in five identified contacts on a reported day.
- The outbreak has crossed into Uganda, which confirmed multiple cases, and regional authorities warned ten neighboring countries face high risk as WHO evaluates the experimental antiviral Obeldesivir and some states impose special entry or isolation measures.
- Bundibugyo is a rarer Ebola species with prior small outbreaks, and the current response is hampered by armed conflict, community resistance to safe burials, scarce lab kits, and urgent funding needs for DRC and neighboring countries.