{"id":1626,"date":"2026-05-22T16:54:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/22\/suspected-ebola-cases-triple-in-a-week-as-who-warns-of-rapid-spread-in-drc\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T16:54:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:54:53","slug":"suspected-ebola-cases-triple-in-a-week-as-who-warns-of-rapid-spread-in-drc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1626","title":{"rendered":"Suspected Ebola cases triple in a week as WHO warns of rapid spread in DRC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"96ce9b3a-dacb-4ea3-b0fc-346e485e0514\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Two people wearing full personal protective equipment carry a person on a stretcher through hospital grounds.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/2ef7792278e0afedb94ef56e9958ff512fdfd531\/562_102_4362_3490\/master\/4362.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.0426409903714\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Medical staff carry an Ebola patient to a treatment centre in Rwampara, Congo, 21 May. There have been 177 suspected deaths from the disease so far.<\/span> Photograph: Moses Sawasawa\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"96ce9b3a-dacb-4ea3-b0fc-346e485e0514\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Medical staff carry an Ebola patient to a treatment centre in Rwampara, Congo, 21 May. There have been 177 suspected deaths from the disease so far.<\/span> Photograph: Moses Sawasawa\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Suspected Ebola cases triple in a week as WHO warns of rapid spread in DRC<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Situation described as \u2018deeply worrisome\u2019 by officials as aid cuts and community distrust impede responders<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Ebola outbreak in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/congo\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a> poses a \u201cvery high\u201d risk to the country, the World Health Organization said on Friday, revising its threat assessment upwards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The outbreak is spreading rapidly, WHO leaders said, with almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, up from 246 cases and 65 deaths when it was first reported a week earlier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The situation is \u201cdeeply worrisome\u201d, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">On Thursday, tents and medical supplies outside a hospital in Rwampara, Ituri province, were set on fire as medics tried to set up an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ebola\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Ebola<\/a> treatment centre. A crowd was reportedly angry at not being allowed to retrieve the body of a local man who had died at the hospital. The bodies of Ebola patients must be buried according to strict infection control protocols to prevent further spread.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"5edf3d94-e492-4223-a7a4-73609ca0354f\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Medical staff wearing personal protective equipment carry blue buckets and crates of disinfectant.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/15bd1818ce95e15e1c5886013464af388c5b2ff7\/0_0_5760_3840\/master\/5760.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.66666666666663\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"5edf3d94-e492-4223-a7a4-73609ca0354f\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Medical staff carry disinfectant to a hospital in Rwampara on 21 May. An Ebola treatment centre at the hospital was attacked on Thursday.<\/span> Photograph: Seros Muyisa\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Tedros warned that \u201csignificant distrust of outside authorities among the local population\u201d was causing issues for the response to the outbreak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cBuilding trust in the affected communities is critical to a successful response, and is one of our highest priorities,\u201d Tedros said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The WHO\u2019s representative in the DRC, Dr Anne Ancia, said the incident in Rwampara would \u201csignificantly jeopardise\u201d the response operation there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The treatment centre that was attacked was designed to separate Ebola patients from others being treated in the same hospital. Ancia said she was hopeful that it would be able to be up and running again within 24 hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The outbreak has been caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no vaccines or treatments exist. Most cases are in the DRC\u2019s Ituri province, with a handful reported elsewhere in the country, and two in neighbouring Uganda.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rising case numbers may paradoxically be a \u201cgood sign\u201d, indicating better detection, officials said. A slight fall in the number of samples testing positive suggests more people with potential symptoms are being picked up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">However, Ancia said: \u201cWe are running behind, we are not yet under control.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"609e2bd0-788b-4691-81ab-b5592aa8f2e1\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-12 | 12\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1ljij2n\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/19\/why-the-lessons-of-the-drcs-last-ebola-outbreak-are-being-tested-again\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">As WHO sounds alarm over Ebola in DRC, what can be learned from previous outbreaks?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">She was confident, however, that the response would be successful.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI can guarantee you that together, we will manage to get over this outbreak as soon as we can,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">While the WHO raised its risk assessment for the DRC, it maintained its earlier assessment that there was a high risk at the regional level and low risk at the global level.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"96838ef4-f0ed-4fe6-95d1-1d1bae3ac18a\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-3\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"People wearing PPE work in a run-down ward with metal beds. \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/47e4a06a341402a08a4e919a7dc040d0c3e348bd\/0_0_7994_5332\/master\/7994.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.8151113335001\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-3\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"96838ef4-f0ed-4fe6-95d1-1d1bae3ac18a\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Health workers disinfect an isolation ward at a hospital in Mongbwalu, DRC. A lack of staff and equipment is making the response more challenging. <\/span> Photograph: Michel Lunanga\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Representatives of humanitarian organisations working in Ituri said they did not yet have enough resources to mount an adequate response.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Dr Amadou Bocoum, country director for Care International in the DRC, said aid cuts last year meant \u201cthe system was not able to work properly because of lack of equipment\u201d, while lower staff levels also made the labour-intensive work of informing cases and contact tracing harder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Julie Drouet, country director for Action Against Hunger, said: \u201cEveryone is working to try to implement as quickly as possible \u2026 the response in the field, however it is not quite yet ready. It is not really yet up to the emergency that we have in Congo at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A WHO press briefing also heard that scientists had identified an <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/40085692\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">antiviral drug, obeldesivir<\/a>, which may be able to prevent contacts of Bundibugyo cases developing the disease, and were working to establish trials in the affected areas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/global-development\/global-development\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Global development<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/ebola\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Ebola<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/science\/infectiousdiseases\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Infectious diseases<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/congo\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/world-health-organization\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">World Health Organization<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/society\/health\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Health<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Suspected%20Ebola%20cases%20triple%20in%20a%20week%20as%20WHO%20warns%20of%20rapid%20spread%20in%20DRC&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/may\/22\/suspected-ebola-cases-triple-in-a-week-as-who-warns-of-rapid-spread-in-drc?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development%2F2026%2Fmay%2F22%2Fsuspected-ebola-cases-triple-in-a-week-as-who-warns-of-rapid-spread-in-drc&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=global-development\/2026\/may\/22\/suspected-ebola-cases-triple-in-a-week-as-who-warns-of-rapid-spread-in-drc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Medical staff carry an Ebola patient to a treatment centre in Rwampara, Congo, 21 May. There have been 177 suspected deaths from the disease so far. Photograph: Moses Sawasawa\/AP View &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1626\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1626\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}