The World Health Organization (WHO) raised this Friday (05/22/2026) the risk level presented by the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from “high” to “very high”, the maximum.

The disease “is spreading rapidly” in the African country, declared director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference. “We are currently reviewing our risk assessment to rate it as very high nationally, high regionally and low globally,” he added.

The epidemic spread in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, divided in two by the front line between Congolese forces and the M23 armed group, supported by Rwanda, which has seized large swaths of territory since 2021.

Faced with this situation, the health response is difficult and has led to scenes of chaos in Ituri, where the focus of the epidemic is located and where the WHO has sent more personnel.

Alarm due to expansion of the virus: absence of vaccine and treatment

So far “82 cases have been confirmed, including seven deaths” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tedros said. He also specified that there are about 750 suspected cases and 177 suspicious deaths.

The situation in Uganda is currently “stable, with two confirmed cases and one death reported,” he said.

Ebola causes a deadly hemorrhagic fever, but the virus, which has caused more than 15,000 deaths in Africa in the last 50 years, is less contagious than Covid or measles.

In the absence of a vaccine and an authorized treatment against the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, responsible for the current outbreak, attempts are being made to stop its spread with barrier measures and by detecting cases quickly.

rr afp/reuters/dpa