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Sunday, May 31, 2026
Confirmed Ebola cases nearly double in days as WHO chief visits DR Congo
Confirmed Ebola cases nearly double in days as WHO chief visits DR Congo
WHO’s Tedros calls for a community-led fight as a rare Ebola strain spreads rapidly through conflict-hit eastern DRC.
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WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrives at Bunia airport, the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak, in eastern DRC on May 30, 2026 [Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters]
The head of the United Nations health agency is visiting the epicentre of a deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), urging local communities to lead the fight against a disease whose confirmed cases have nearly doubled in two days.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization (WHO) director-general, arrived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, on Saturday.
“The international community is involved under the leadership of the government of DRC, and at the same time, community ownership is important; that’s why we’re here to discuss with the community to see how the response is you know, running, and if there are challenges, to help,” Tedros told reporters.
“The communities understand the problems better, and they know the solution, as well.”
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare and severe form of Ebola for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.
The WHO has declared the outbreak a global health emergency, its highest level of alarm, and the medical NGO Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, calls it one of the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreaks ever recorded.
Authorities have also recorded 1,028 suspected cases and more than 220 suspected deaths in DRC, while the disease has crossed into neighbouring Uganda, which has recorded nine confirmed cases and one death.
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