European health officials are deploying experts to support efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as suspected cases and deaths rise in Ituri Province.
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Director Dr Pamela Rendi-Wagner met Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), to agree details of collaboration and the rapid deployment of specialists to the region, the ECDC reported on Monday.
An expert from the EU Health Task Force will be sent immediately to Africa CDC’s headquarters to help with coordination and operational planning.
The ECDC is also in talks with the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network about potentially deploying further experts as the situation develops — including specialists in infection prevention, epidemiology, surveillance and risk communication — to support response work in the DRC and Uganda.
As of 16 May 2026, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths had been reported in at least three health zones in Ituri Province, in the DRC.
Two additional cases have been reported in Uganda in people with a history of travel from the DRC.
Virus type and response challenges
There are “significant uncertainties” about the scale of transmission, and the outbreak may be larger than currently detected, the agency informed.
Response efforts are being complicated by insecurity and wider humanitarian challenges in affected areas.
The outbreak is being caused by Bundibugyo virus, a type of Ebola, and there are currently no licensed vaccines or specific treatments for it.
