Health workers in protective equipment carried the body of an Ebola victim out of an isolation tent at the Centre Médical Évangélique in Bunia on Thursday (May 21), as authorities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo struggled to contain the latest outbreak of the deadly virus.

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday there were 600 suspected Ebola cases and 139 suspected deaths linked to the outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, warning that the figures were expected to rise because the virus had circulated undetected for weeks before being identified.

The outbreak, centred in Ituri province, involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is currently no approved vaccine. One confirmed case has also been reported in the eastern city of Goma.

At the hospital in Bunia, health workers disinfected the treatment area before placing the body in a coffin and carrying it out of the isolation tent.

Red Cross volunteers stood nearby as the coffin was loaded onto a vehicle while relatives and residents gathered outside the treatment area, some crying as the body was taken away.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

BUNIA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (MAY 21, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

1. BODY OF DECEASED LAYING IN BED AS HEALTH WORKERS DRESSED IN PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE), DISINFECT THE AREA

2. HEALTH WORKERS EXITING TENT, CARRYING COFFIN

3. HEALTH WORKERS PLACING COFFIN ON TOP OF VEHICLE

4. HEALTH WORKER WALKING AWAY FROM VEHICLE

5. HEALTH WORKERS DISINFECTING THEMSELVES

6. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SEATED ON GROUND, CRYING

7. PEOPLE STANDING UNDER TREE SHADE, CRYING

8. WOMAN CRYING AS SHE WALKS PAST VEHICLE CARRYING COFFIN

9. HEALTH WORKER IN PPE TAKING ITEM FROM RED CROSS TRUCK

10. HEALTH WORKER IN PPE WALKING

11. PERSON LOOKING AT TWO HEALTH WORKERS DRESSED IN PPE

12. PEOPLE STANDING AT HOSPITAL

13. EXTERIOR OF CENTRE MÉDICAL ÉVANGÉLIQUE HOSPITAL