A person cleans their hands prior to entering Kyeshero Hospital at a security point in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 18, 2026.Jospin Mwisha/AFP via Getty Images
LONDON — Authorities communicated Tuesday that a minimum of 513 possible cases and 131 potential fatalities have been registered during the current Ebola epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Congolese Minister of Public Health Samuel Roger Kamba stated during a news conference that officials will ascertain which of the reported deaths "are truly related to the illness."
During the United Nation’s agency yearly World Health Assembly in Geneva on Tuesday, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus detailed the rationale behind his declaring a public health emergency of international significance before calling an emergency committee.
"I didn’t approach this casually," Tedros stated. "I acted according to Article 12 of the International Health Regulations, following discussions with the health ministers of both nations, and due to my deep concerns regarding the magnitude and swiftness of the epidemic. We will convene the Emergency Committee today to advise us on immediate recommendations."
A person cleans their hands prior to entering Kyeshero Hospital at a security point in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 18, 2026.Jospin Mwisha/AFP via Getty Images
At least 30 Ebola cases have been verified in Congo. Also, there are more than 500 possible cases and over 130 suspected fatalities, as per Tedros.
Cases have been documented in metropolitan regions, including one of Congo’s biggest cities, Goma, the rebel-controlled capital of the eastern province of North Kivu, Tedros mentioned.
Uganda has also verified a couple of cases in its capital Kampala, including one death, among two persons who journeyed from the neighboring Congo, as stated by Tedros.
This epidemic is triggered by the Bundibugyo virus, an uncommon type of Ebola for which there aren’t any endorsed immunizations or therapies, Tedros noted.
On Tuesday, Dr. Anne Ancia, WHO’s representative in the DRC, conveyed that more than 40 specialists were sent to the location on Sunday and the WHO has dispatched 12 tons of provisions, with an additional six tons to come.
Provisions comprise personal safety gear for frontline healthcare personnel, lab samples, tents, medications and other treatments.
"What I observe here in the area is acutely vulnerable individuals, a [fragile] population," Ancia expressed. "However, I see also individuals collaborating while confronting considerable uncertainty regarding the [scale] or the magnitude of this outbreak."
She indicated that surveillance capability is restricted in the affected zone, which could describe why the outbreak is escalating rapidly.
"We genuinely need to act swiftly to genuinely attempt to halt the disease’s further proliferation," she communicated. "We don’t yet grasp the degree of the disease’s transmission."
Per The Associated Press, more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have transpired in Congo and Uganda, but this is only the third instance in which the Bundibugyo virus has been identified.
An American physician functioning in the DRC is among those who has tested positive for Ebola amidst the epidemic, according to a global Christian missions organization.
Dr. Peter Stafford, a medical missionary with the missions organization Serge, was subjected while tending to patients at Nyankunde Hospital, the group conveyed Monday.
He requested testing "after displaying indications consistent with the virus," Serge declared in a statement.
Dr. Satish K. Pillai, incident manager for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Ebola response, stated that the agency had initiated its Emergency Operations Center through its country offices in the DRC and in Uganda, and is dispatching technical experts that have been sought from Atlanta headquarters.
Fatima Tafida, the Regional Supply Chain Lead for Emergencies at the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa, applies stickers on shipment pallets at an airport in in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 18, 2026.World Health Organization/via Reuters
Pillai included that the hazard to the U.S. general population is still minimal.
The CDC communicated earlier Monday that it is arranging to restrict entry for travelers arriving from sections of central Africa where an Ebola outbreak has been proclaimed, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security.
On Sunday, the CDC stated in a statement that a "small amount of Americans" were directly impacted by the Ebola outbreak.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. conveyed to ABC News on Monday that his agency is "tackling" the Ebola outbreak.
ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud, Eric M. Strauss and Mary Kekatos added to this report.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com