On May 15, 2026, the World Health Organization's (WHO) director-general said the body was supporting the Democratic Republic of Congo in containing an outbreak of Ebola in the country's northeast.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO was aware of 13 cases that had been confirmed by a lab in the country's capital Kinshasa, and a WHO team had been sent to Ituri province on May 5 after suspected cases were reported, but that samples initially tested negative for Ebola.

Ebola virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness that is endemic to Congo's vast tropical forests. It spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons, contaminated materials or persons who have died from the disease, the Africa CDC said.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MAY 15, 2026) (WHO - No resales)

1. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) OFFICIALS PREPARING TO GIVE A PRESS CONFERENCE

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DIRECTOR-GENERAL, TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, SAYING:

“Currently, WHO is aware that 13 cases of Ebola have been confirmed by INRB (National Institute of Biomedical Research) in Kinshasa, and on 5th May WHO received a signal of suspected cases and sent a team to Ituri to support DRC health officials in their investigation of the outbreak and collect samples in the field, which initially tested negative for Ebola."

3. PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DIRECTOR-GENERAL, TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, SAYING:

“Today I have released $500,000 from WHO's contingency fund for emergencies to immediately support the response."

Also on May 15, Uganda confirmed an outbreak of the highly infectious Ebola virus disease, the health ministry said in a statement, adding that the outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain.

The ministry said the case was an imported infection from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The patient died in intensive care on Thursday (May 14) after developing haemorrhagic symptoms.

Earlier that day, Africa's top public health agency said there was a confirmed Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, with 65 deaths out of 246 suspected cases so far.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

BUNIA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (MAY 16, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

5. PEOPLE LOOKING INTO A MEDICAL VAN BRINGING IN A SICK PERSON

6. WOMEN CRYING

7. EXTERIOR OF HOSPITAL / AMBULANCE AT EMERGENCY ENTRANCE

8. VARIOUS OF LAB TECHNICIAN IN LABORATORY ANALYSING SAMPLES

9. VIEW FROM HOSPITAL WINDOW WITH MEDICAL STAFF CHECKING PATIENTS

10. BUNIA RESIDENT CLEANING HANDS BEFORE ENTERING HOSPITAL

11. NURSE CARRYING MASKS INSIDE HOSPITAL

Health authorities in Uganda are on alert after an Ebola case was confirmed in Kampala following the death of a patient at Kibuli Muslim Hospital, prompting concern among residents about the potential spread of the virus.

A Ministry of Health scientist, Dr Misaki Wayengera, said while the Zaire strain remains the most lethal, improved patient care has helped reduce fatality rates in recent outbreaks. He said early detection would be key, calling for affordable point-of-care testing and automated systems to help clinicians quickly identify suspected cases.

KAMPALA, UGANDA (MAY 16, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

12. ENTRANCE TO KIBULI MUSLIM HOSPITAL WHERE PATIENT WITH EBOLA RECENTLY DIED

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MINISTRY OF HEALTH SCIENTIST, DR. MISAKI WAYENGERA, SAYING:

"Zaire species is still the most fatal, and I will tell you the fatality in terms of lethality, or what we call virulence, we've learned many things is a factor of care, because in the past we would run away from Ebola patients, we leave people, we can't even handle them to give them some resuscitation, some infusions. These people need some support for their circulatory system, they are losing a lot of water, they are losing blood, they need to be supported, but now as our care has improved, we've learned that we can reduce the fatality rate."

14. EXTERIOR OF KIBULI MUSLIM HOSPITAL

15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MINISTRY OF HEALTH SCIENTIST, DR. MISAKI WAYENGERA, SAYING:

"I think that the solution to this would be for us to have tests that are cheap, affordable point of care tests, which cost very little money, that anybody who comes in with a fever, we can test them."

On May 16, the official death toll of the recent outbreak in the DRC rose to 80 as the country's health minister said authorities had recorded the updated fatalities tally from around 246 suspected Ebola cases in the eastern province of Ituri.

KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (MAY 16, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

16. DRC HEALTH MINISTER, DR SAMUEL ROGER KAMBA, ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE ON EBOLA

17. (SOUNDBITE) (French) DRC HEALTH MINISTER, DR SAMUEL ROGER KAMBA, SAYING:

"The timeline of this new epidemic goes back to the start of this month, when a first alert through social media came on the 5th (of May). Our teams were deployed and mobilised immediately and confirmed a documented alert on the 8th (of May). And so, after the alert, we quickly decided to take samples and examine them."

18. KAMBA SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE

19. (SOUNDBITE) (French) DRC HEALTH MINISTER, DR SAMUEL ROGER KAMBA, SAYING:

"Today we are at around 246 suspected cases. And we have recorded, at community level but also at health centre level, a total of 80 deaths. So, as soon as we had the diagnosis, as I said, the diagnosis was made the night before last, the ministry informed the council of ministers and made the official declaration of the epidemic, the 17th Ebola epidemic."

20. KAMBA LEAVING THE PRESS BRIEFING ROOM

On May 17, the World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a "public health emergency of international concern," posing risks to neighbouring countries.

The WHO said the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency but that countries sharing land borders with DRC are at high risk for further spread.

INTERNET (MAY 17, 2026) (SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE - Access all) (MUTE)

21. SCREENSHOT OF MAIN HEADER OF POST ON X BY WHO READING (English):

"Epidemic of Ebola Disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the DRC & Uganda determined a PHEIC"

The worst Ebola outbreak in the DRC was between 2018 and 2020, the Kivu Ebola epidemic left more than 2,000 dead.

BENI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (ARCHIVE- MARCH 2019) (REUTERS - Access All)

22. MAN TALKING TO SON INSIDE TRANSPARENT TREATMENT CUBICLE

23. TREATMENT CUBICLES

24. EBOLA TREATMENT ENTRANCE

25. HEALTH WORKER IN PROTECTIVE CLOTHING WALKING INTO CENTRE

BWERA, UGANDA (ARCHIVE - JUNE 13, 2019) (REUTERS - Access all)

26. VARIOUS OF EBOLA SCREENING, TEMPERATURES BEING TAKEN

BWERA, UGANDA (ARCHIVE - JUNE 14, 2019) (REUTERS - Access all)

27. VARIOUS OF MEDICAL PERSONNEL WORKING