{"id":909978,"date":"2026-06-02T15:14:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/who-deeply-concerned-about-scale-and-speed-of-deadly-ebola-outbreak\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:14:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:14:42","slug":"who-deeply-concerned-about-scale-and-speed-of-deadly-ebola-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/who-deeply-concerned-about-scale-and-speed-of-deadly-ebola-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"WHO &#8216;deeply concerned about scale and speed&#8217; of deadly Ebola outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<h2>In brief<\/h2>\n<ul data-testid=\"highlights\">\n<li>WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was &#8220;deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>The recent cases are concentrated in difficult-to-access areas hit by long-running conflicts where resources are limited.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p><b><span>The World Health Organization says it&#8217;s worried about the &#8220;scale and speed&#8221; of an Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 130 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and warns it could be lengthy.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa in the past half-century and the UN health agency <\/span><a data-variant=\"textBodyLink\" data-clickevent=\"{\"elementType\":\"LinkEmbed\",\"clickURL\":\"\/news\/article\/who-declares-ebola-outbreak-an-international-health-emergency\/dhrqm1y2z\",\"clickType\":\"clickSource\"}\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/news\/article\/who-declares-ebola-outbreak-an-international-health-emergency\/dhrqm1y2z\"><span>has declared the latest surge of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever an international health emergency.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>No vaccine or therapeutic treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that is responsible for the outbreak \u2014 the 17th in the vast central African country of more than 100 million people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Workers with shovels were seen digging to clear an abandoned Ebola treatment centre in the eastern city of Goma.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;We are currently spreading sand and preparing the site to help care for people affected by Ebola virus disease,&#8221; said Philippe Jamaica, who was supervising the work.<\/span><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"embedded-newsletter\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><h2>News that makes sense<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><svg viewBox=\"0 0 141 35\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path fill=\"#2E2E2E\" fill-rule=\"nonzero\" d=\"M138.770007,18.6462974 C138.686798,16.4844989 137.034065,15.5145147 135.050578,15.5145147 C133.509137,15.5145147 131.691027,16.1245478 131.691027,17.9808066 C131.691027,19.532572 133.454011,20.0871476 134.637655,20.3874555 L136.951897,20.9106401 C138.935384,21.2161799 141,22.3755569 141,24.8732399 C141,27.9767706 137.94312,29.1633532 135.299164,29.1633532 C131.993698,29.1633532 129.735622,27.6126342 129.459993,24.1209005 L131.194895,24.1209005 C131.333229,26.4762773 133.06709,27.6952973 135.382373,27.6952973 C137.007022,27.6952973 139.265099,26.9753954 139.265099,24.9799695 C139.265099,23.317289 137.722617,22.7627134 136.153093,22.3755569 L133.92206,21.8764388 C131.662944,21.267452 129.956125,20.4910461 129.956125,18.053006 C129.956125,15.1430537 132.792502,14.0349487 135.299164,14.0349487 C138.13554,14.0349487 140.395697,15.5312565 140.504908,18.6389728 L138.770007,18.6462974 Z\" \/><polygon fill=\"#2E2E2E\" fill-rule=\"nonzero\" points=\"108.936 14.462 110.781 14.462 114.421 26.704 114.476 26.704 117.947 14.462 119.895 14.462 123.365 26.704 123.421 26.704 127.062 14.462 128.907 14.462 124.33 28.759 122.43 28.759 118.932 16.734 118.877 16.734 115.406 28.759 113.506 28.759\" \/><path fill=\"#2E2E2E\" fill-rule=\"nonzero\" d=\"M97.8864516,22.0815272 C97.9134944,24.6315286 99.238593,27.7068074 102.566941,27.7068074 C105.099606,27.7068074 106.47775,26.2104996 107.027968,24.0497474 L108.765989,24.0497474 C108.021271,27.2934916 106.149076,29.176956 102.569021,29.176956 C98.0507887,29.176956 96.1515501,25.6862687 96.1515501,21.6127537 C96.1515501,17.845825 98.0507887,14.0485515 102.569021,14.0485515 C107.140299,14.0485515 108.958409,18.0666089 108.821115,22.0836198 L97.8864516,22.0815272 Z M107.085173,20.6166104 C107.003005,17.9839458 105.378355,15.5176537 102.569021,15.5176537 C99.7316045,15.5176537 98.1610403,18.0121977 97.8885318,20.6166104 L107.085173,20.6166104 Z\" \/><polygon fill=\"#2E2E2E\" fill-rule=\"nonzero\" points=\"78.571 8.976 80.664 8.976 92.124 25.711 92.179 25.711 92.179 8.976 94.052 8.976 94.052 28.759 91.957 28.759 80.499 12.024 80.444 12.024 80.444 28.759 78.572 28.759\" \/><path fill=\"#E12827\" d=\"M57.6998964 22.3930449C57.7846874 27.3725469 61.5021876 29.5670219 66.0928682 29.5670219 70.0920074 29.5670219 74.0911465 27.7664696 74.0911465 23.2652549 74.0911465 21.1833767 72.8236053 18.9327693 70.1767983 18.145256 69.1343687 17.8356979 64.6846738 16.6818298 64.3744388 16.5977974 62.9386457 16.2038747 61.9806745 15.4160293 61.9806745 14.0093997 61.9806745 11.9839859 64.0369376 11.393434 65.6705761 11.393434 68.0926041 11.393434 69.8382996 12.3500085 70.0072165 14.9380741L73.5282013 14.9380741C73.5282013 10.7464176 70.0072165 8.52404248 65.8112293 8.52404248 62.177855 8.52404248 58.4600222 10.4086272 58.4600222 14.4315546 58.4600222 16.5131007 59.4741882 18.5953111 62.9103821 19.5233212 65.6705761 20.2829344 67.5007301 20.6489571 68.9089246 21.1833767 69.7259101 21.4926027 70.5704942 22.111719 70.5704942 23.6591776 70.5704942 25.178404 69.415675 26.6972982 66.3179798 26.6972982 63.501591 26.6972982 61.2205488 25.4872979 61.2205488 22.3930449L57.6998964 22.3930449ZM43.6534646 19.9457751 49.8774512 19.9457751C52.0181728 19.9457751 53.2574504 21.0710788 53.2574504 23.0400281 53.2574504 25.065774 52.0181728 26.2189778 49.8774512 26.2189778L43.6534646 26.2189778 43.6534646 19.9457751ZM40.1331448 29.0883693 49.3707007 29.0883693C54.5808539 29.0883693 56.7781027 26.6411327 56.7781027 23.4904153 56.7781027 20.7611885 55.4543667 18.8483715 53.0037426 18.3136198L53.0037426 18.2578196C54.8345616 17.4699742 55.8763262 16.0072123 55.8763262 13.9817985 55.8763262 10.6334554 53.5104931 9.00229654 49.9057149 9.00229654L40.1331448 9.00229654 40.1331448 29.0883693ZM43.6534646 11.8716881 49.3989644 11.8716881C51.3139093 11.8716881 52.3560064 12.6034012 52.3560064 14.6284828 52.3560064 16.4290351 51.0884652 17.4131776 49.3989644 17.4131776L43.6534646 17.4131776 43.6534646 11.8716881ZM22.3358949 22.3930449C22.4206858 27.3725469 26.1381861 29.5670219 30.7288667 29.5670219 34.7280058 29.5670219 38.727145 27.7664696 38.727145 23.2652549 38.727145 21.1833767 37.4596038 18.9327693 34.8127968 18.145256 33.7703671 17.8356979 29.3206722 16.6818298 29.0104372 16.5977974 27.5746442 16.2038747 26.6166729 15.4160293 26.6166729 14.0093997 26.6166729 11.9839859 28.6729361 11.393434 30.3065746 11.393434 32.7286025 11.393434 34.4742981 12.3500085 34.6432149 14.9380741L38.1638672 14.9380741C38.1638672 10.7464176 34.6432149 8.52404248 30.4468953 8.52404248 26.8138534 8.52404248 23.0963531 10.4086272 23.0963531 14.4315546 23.0963531 16.5131007 24.1101866 18.5953111 27.546048 19.5233212 30.3065746 20.2829344 32.1367286 20.6489571 33.5445905 21.1833767 34.3619085 21.4926027 35.2064927 22.111719 35.2064927 23.6591776 35.2064927 25.178404 34.0516735 26.6972982 30.9539783 26.6972982 28.1375894 26.6972982 25.8565472 25.4872979 25.8565472 22.3930449L22.3358949 22.3930449ZM23.3122209 0C23.3122209 0 17.8806138 4.65237054 13.2174453 14.4145657 16.0248563 7.2368384 15.8409763 2.19958904 15.8409763 2.19958904 15.8409763 2.19958904 11.899362 5.57516021 8.47148094 12.6566678 10.463569 7.45522101 10.3308961 3.82514379 10.3308961 3.82514379 10.3308961 3.82514379 7.47261057 6.27529814 4.95282371 11.4081104 6.36401075 7.63912215 6.26891191 5.02345678 6.26891191 5.02345678 6.26891191 5.02345678 3.80066463 7.13733475 1.84182795 11.5861005-.116676222 16.0348662.00136604934 19.2590473.00136604934 19.2590473.00136604934 19.2590473 2.00076937 17.5458111 3.82859576 13.9603956 1.7490567 19.2774374 1.8850547 23.0083318 1.8850547 23.0083318 1.8850547 23.0083318 4.66519958 20.6258269 7.15905039 15.6365231 4.24989029 22.9459368 4.43875793 28.0984528 4.43875793 28.0984528 4.43875793 28.0984528 8.29292123 24.7970989 11.6935362 17.8755196 7.64385499 27.9030578 7.90288296 35 7.90288296 35 7.90288296 35 13.9719183 29.8028223 18.787378 18.8656302 23.6028376 7.92810967 23.3122209 0 23.3122209 0\" \/><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n<p>Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Tonnes of emergency medical supplies, including infection prevention kits and tents, as well as experts have arrived in recent days, local WHO footage showed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With the recent cases largely concentrated in difficult-to-access areas hit by long-running conflicts, few samples have been laboratory-tested and figures are based mostly on suspected cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba told reporters on Tuesday that there had been 136 deaths suspected to be linked to Ebola and about 543 suspected cases, calling for international aid to help combat the spread.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was &#8220;deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic&#8221; while the agency&#8217;s representative in the DRC said a vaccine candidate called Ervebo was being considered.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But Anne Ancia said it would likely take at least two months to be available, adding: &#8220;I don&#8217;t think that in two months we will be done with this outbreak&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-testid=\"embed-heading\">&#8216;We bury people without gloves or protection&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p><span>At the hospital in Rwampara in northeastern Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak near the border with Uganda and South Sudan, the response was slow, despite the surge in cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A simple strip of plastic marked off the site reserved for receiving patients.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;We dig graves and bury people who died without gloves or any protection. We&#8217;re so exposed,&#8221; Salama Bamunoba, from a local youth organisation, told AFP.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;We&#8217;re already at about 100 cases. We didn&#8217;t have an appropriate place to do triage and isolate suspected cases&#8221; until Monday, said one local hospital official.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure data-testid=\"embeded-image\"><img alt=\"Health workers wearing protective suits tend to to a patient kept in an isolation tent.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"8422\" height=\"5617\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\"   src=\"https:\/\/assets.sbs.com.au\/1e\/e9\/f4c9a89142d8b4f64090d4965bd2\/20220311001633582140-original.jpg?imwidth=1280\"><figcaption>The outbreak has alarmed experts because it was able to spread undetected for weeks across a densely populated area ravaged by widespread armed violence. Source: AAP \/ Jerome Delay\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span>Kamba told reporters that equipment was being delivered. &#8220;We have everything healthcare providers will need,&#8221; he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The DRC&#8217;s deadliest Ebola outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, claimed nearly 2,300 lives from 3,500 cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The east is a gold-mining hub with people regularly crisscrossing the region, and it has been plagued by clashes between local militias for years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The virus has already spread into neighbouring provinces, as well as beyond the DRC&#8217;s borders into Uganda.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-testid=\"embed-heading\">Limited knowledge of Bundibugyo strain<\/h2>\n<p><span>Vaccines are only available for the Zaire strain of the disease, which has caused the biggest recorded outbreaks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Bundibugyo strain has previously been responsible for outbreaks in Uganda in 2007 and in the DRC in 2012. The mortality rate was 30 to 50 per cent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday urged citizens to keep &#8220;calm&#8221; and take precautions, the presidency said on X.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Suspected cases have been reported in the commercial hub of Butembo in North Kivu province, some 200 kilometres from the epidemic&#8217;s ground zero, Kamba said.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure data-testid=\"embeded-image\"><img alt=\"A sign on the premises of a healthcare facility points out symptoms, danger of infection and course of Ebola.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"669\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\"   src=\"https:\/\/assets.sbs.com.au\/14\/6a\/e5dcecbc4eedafc014ecb9c1416b\/gettyimages-1166050084.jpg?imwidth=1280\"><figcaption>Ebola, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people or animals, has an average fatality rate of around 50 per cent, according to the WHO. Source: Getty \/ picture alliance\/dpa\/picture alliance via Getty I<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span>Another case has been recorded in Goma, the North Kivu provincial capital, which was seized by M23 fighters in January last year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018, appealed to the Rwanda-backed group to reopen the city&#8217;s airport to help combat the outbreak.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Aid organisations are struggling with a drop in international aid, particularly from the United States since Donald Trump&#8217;s second term.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington had released around $18 million in aid to combat Ebola in the DRC, after sweeping US aid cuts last year, and claimed the WHO had been &#8220;a little late&#8221; identifying the outbreak.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-testid=\"embed-heading\">US screening air passengers<\/h2>\n<p><span>The government in neighbouring Uganda said two Ebola cases \u2014 one infection and one death \u2014 had been recorded there, involving Congolese nationals who crossed the border.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Germany meanwhile said on Tuesday it was readying to receive and treat a US citizen who has contracted the virus \u2014 a doctor from an American Christian NGO.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The United States announced it was screening air passengers from outbreak-hit areas and temporarily suspending visa services.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It also urged citizens to avoid travel to the DRC, South Sudan and Uganda, and to reconsider travel to Rwanda.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Australia has a &#8216;do not travel&#8217; warning in place for the DRC and South Sudan though not for Uganda, where it urges Australian travellers to &#8216;exercise a high degree of caution&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Rubio said that the United States was hoping to open around 50 clinics to treat Ebola in the DRC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;It&#8217;s a little tough to get to because it&#8217;s in a rural area&#8230; and hard-to-get-to place in a war-torn country, unfortunately,&#8221; Rubio said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to lean into that pretty heavy.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Trump in one of his first acts on returning to office last year set in motion a US withdrawal from the WHO, which he attacked bitterly over its response to Covid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i><span>For the latest from SBS News,\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><a data-variant=\"textBodyLink\" data-clickevent=\"{\"elementType\":\"LinkEmbed\",\"clickURL\":\"https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/news\/sbs-news-app?cid=sbsnews:cm:editorial:aw:election2025:appush:hi\",\"clickType\":\"clickSource\"}\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/news\/sbs-news-app?cid=sbsnews:cm:editorial:aw:election2025:appush:hi\"><span><b><i>download our app<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/a><span> <\/span><b><i><span>and\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><a data-variant=\"textBodyLink\" data-clickevent=\"{\"elementType\":\"LinkEmbed\",\"clickURL\":\"https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/news\/news-newsletter-sign-up?cid=sbsnews:cm:editorial:aw:election2025:newsletterpush:hi\",\"clickType\":\"clickSource\"}\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/news\/news-newsletter-sign-up?cid=sbsnews:cm:editorial:aw:election2025:newsletterpush:hi\"><span><b><i>subscribe to our newsletter<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/a><b><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> Michele Kazmierczak <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/news\/article\/who-deeply-concerned-about-scale-and-speed-of-deadly-ebola-outbreak\/y7uxdd8vm\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In brief WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was &#8220;deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic&#8221;. The recent cases are concentrated in difficult-to-access areas hit by long-running conflicts where resources are limited. The World Health Organization says it&#8217;s worried about the &#8220;scale and speed&#8221; of an Ebola outbreak that has killed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":909979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2486,31822],"tags":[13039,20301],"class_list":["post-909978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-concerned","category-deeply","tag-concerned","tag-deeply"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}