{"id":2000112583,"date":"2026-05-20T09:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T07:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000112583"},"modified":"2026-05-20T09:30:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T07:30:01","slug":"ebola-outbreak-in-dr-congo-records-136-suspected-deaths-as-response-efforts-intensify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/ebola-outbreak-in-dr-congo-records-136-suspected-deaths-as-response-efforts-intensify\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebola outbreak in DR Congo raises alarm as suspected deaths reach 136"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Congo\u2019s Minister of Public Health, Samuel Roger Kamba, said on Tuesday that authorities are still assessing how many of the reported deaths are directly connected to Ebola. At least 30 cases have so far been laboratory confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outbreak has affected several urban areas, including Goma, one of the largest cities in eastern Congo. According to the World Health Organization, cases have also been reported across the border in Uganda, where two infections were confirmed in Kampala, including one death involving travelers from Congo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking during the World Health Assembly in Geneva, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization was concerned about the scale and speed of the outbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the WHO had declared the situation a public health emergency of international concern following consultations with health officials from both countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health experts say the outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a relatively rare variant for which there are no approved vaccines or specific treatments. Previous outbreaks involving this strain were recorded in 2007 and 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ugandan authorities said surveillance teams have been deployed at border crossings to screen travelers, while laboratories and testing centers have also been activated to support the response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The WHO said more than 40 experts were deployed to affected areas on Sunday. The agency has also delivered over 12 tons of medical supplies, including protective equipment for healthcare workers, laboratory materials, tents and medicines, with additional supplies expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States announced the deployment of a Disaster Assistance Response Team to support efforts in Congo and Uganda. Officials said up to 50 clinics in affected regions would receive support for emergency screening, triage and isolation services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An American doctor working in eastern Congo also tested positive for Ebola after reportedly being exposed while treating patients at Nyankunde Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The doctor was later evacuated to a U.S. military base in Germany for further treatment, while other high-risk contacts, including family members, remain under quarantine and monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kavota Mugisha Robert, a healthcare worker, decontaminates his colleague after he entered the house of 85-year-old woman, suspected of dying of Ebola, in the eastern Congolese town of Beni in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Oct. 8, 2019.
Zohra Bensemra\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have reported 543 suspected Ebola cases and 136 suspected deaths linked to the ongoing outbreak in the country\u2019s eastern region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000112584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[99],"byline":[235],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000112583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-greatlakesnews","byline-xinhua"],"bylines":[{"id":235,"name":"Xinhua","slug":"xinhua","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":80}],"contributors":[{"id":235,"name":"Xinhua","slug":"xinhua","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":80}],"featured_image":{"id":2000112584,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/beni-congo-ebola-rt-ps-191021_hpMain.jpg","alt":"","caption":"Kavota Mugisha Robert, a healthcare worker, decontaminates his colleague after he entered the house of 85-year-old woman, suspected of dying of Ebola, in the eastern Congolese town of Beni in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Oct. 8, 2019.\nZohra Bensemra\/Reuters","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":2592,"height":1728,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/beni-congo-ebola-rt-ps-191021_hpMain.jpg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/beni-congo-ebola-rt-ps-191021_hpMain.jpg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/beni-congo-ebola-rt-ps-191021_hpMain.jpg","width":768,"height":512},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/beni-congo-ebola-rt-ps-191021_hpMain.jpg","width":1024,"height":683},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/beni-congo-ebola-rt-ps-191021_hpMain.jpg","width":2592,"height":1728}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000112583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000112583"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000112583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000112586,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000112583\/revisions\/2000112586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000112584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000112583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000112583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000112583"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000112583"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000112583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}