Health Officials Scale Up Operations To Contain Deadly Ebola Outbreak In Congo

MONGBWALU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - MAY 26: A member of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Ebola response team disinfects a restricted area outside the General Referral Hospital of Mongbwalu during outbreak preparedness and infection prevention activities on May 26, 2026 in Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) are deploying rapid response teams to reinforce infection prevention protocols and safe burial practices. However, aid cuts have weakened frontline preparedness, and transmission is currently outpacing field containment capabilities. The current Ebola epidemic in the DRC is caused by the Bundibugyo virus for which there are no approved vaccines. The highest number of cases have been reported in Congo's eastern Ituri province, bordering Uganda. Global health officials have expressed grave concern over the capacity to contain the outbreak in a region already facing a humanitarian crisis, with highly mobile populations displaced by conflict and economic factors. (Photo by Michel Lunanga/Getty Images)