{"id":2043,"date":"2026-06-26T19:56:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/06\/26\/whereabouts-of-nearly-300-people-with-ebola-unknown-in-dr-congo\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T19:56:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:56:07","slug":"whereabouts-of-nearly-300-people-with-ebola-unknown-in-dr-congo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2043","title":{"rendered":"Whereabouts of nearly 300 people with Ebola unknown in DR Congo"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"960f55a8-25c2-4536-a8c8-2ada15300259\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"People in full PPE disinfect a simple wooden coffin laid out between densely packed tented accommodation.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/d34d9403c3a9f3619b43c2f9cbfbc89eb16ca128\/0_0_4583_3667\/master\/4583.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.06087715470215\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Health workers disinfect a coffin at Kigonze displaced persons camp in Bunia, DRC last week. More than 1 million people live in similar camps to which health workers have no access.<\/span> Photograph: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"960f55a8-25c2-4536-a8c8-2ada15300259\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Health workers disinfect a coffin at Kigonze displaced persons camp in Bunia, DRC last week. More than 1 million people live in similar camps to which health workers have no access.<\/span> Photograph: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Whereabouts of nearly 300 people with Ebola unknown in DR Congo <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Fears over \u2018huge community transmission\u2019 as modelling predicts thousands of deaths in DRC by September<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The whereabouts of almost 300 people who have tested positive for Ebola 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> is unknown, according to Africa\u2019s top public health official.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The humanitarian crisis amid the conflict in the affected areas means more than 1 million people are living in camps to which health workers have no access, Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/africa\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Africa<\/a> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">His comments came as projections from the World Health Organization\u2019s Africa regional office, <a href=\"https:\/\/info.thelancet.com\/e3t\/Ctc\/RF+113\/cs6tF04\/VWm0rh8XJHYCVsYDPs7TW8SDW5VG-2S5QJT-6N3pwdFv3qgz0W8wLKSR6lZ3kLW6RwbpK7HGC4vW77CLft1DjXvPW2qDkV9586gd4W1Rw7HD1qfwzTW71SZl97T8ndTVFBZw_1TQxykW44R58P5WvSW9V_9N7J4jBxvnW8ynF-c7hjpCvW2tftVs3lzS8wW28xMP149NFRCW5XGvCM2c4pfKW4M77Fs21n9QlW1fWC8F8JJxYLW5xkJFR1jXfmXN8WlQmYQRkntW7kFK8P2SvQq8W1jRh1w2RP_pkW8mV-6l1DcXrDW8yHN8d6V_6B4W4yn3YJ96H9ncV-r20D2ClGcqW697XvT62rBtJW5p6J6L4ZNMpyN6dYNfb-1jl8W1nPgfN6nQfG9VhzBXw57WmpcV9jwCh7w1yGhf4w5tdd04\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal<\/a>, predicted there will be about 8,210 cases and 1,420 deaths by mid-September.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"7139eb73-9a30-4853-a553-e3102894d292\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man holds up an information sheet while speaking to a small crowd of people surrounded by tents.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/7f4604533a2b262effd53d37ced73e06f6176c9b\/590_0_4618_3695\/master\/4618.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"356.0578172368991\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"7139eb73-9a30-4853-a553-e3102894d292\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Dz\u2019na Lipe Jean\u2011Marie, secretary of Kpangba displacement camp in the DRC, holds an Ebola awareness session on 13 June 2026. <\/span> Photograph: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The modelling suggested the outbreak had a 70% chance of spreading to neighbouring South Sudan in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">There have been <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Com_mediasRDC\/status\/2069898212052222187\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">1,118 confirmed cases and 291 deaths<\/a> to date in the DRC, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/report\/democratic-republic-congo\/ebola-outbreak-drc-and-region-situation-report-8-june-24-2026#:~:text=As%20of%20June%2023%2C%201%2C094,North%20Kivu%20and%20South%20Kivu.\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">20 cases and two deaths in neighbouring Uganda<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">On Wednesday, France announced that a doctor who had been working in the DRC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jun\/24\/france-ebola-first-case-doctor-drc\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">had tested positive<\/a> on his return. His employer, medical NGO Alima, said they were \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ALIMA_ORG\/status\/2069806745661087836\/photo\/1\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">working to understand<\/a> how the contamination may have occurred\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"e292223a-2eac-4399-bf52-99e2691ae4f2\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-7 | 7\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-15vltj4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/jun\/04\/the-race-to-combat-ebola-what-vaccines-and-treatments-are-being-developed-and-how-long-will-it-take\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">The race to combat Ebola: what vaccines and treatments are being developed and how long will it take?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Figures on the number of patients who have recovered and those being treated, as well as deaths, indicate 297 people who tested positive are unaccounted for.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThis is a concern that we have. Where are these people?\u201d asked Kaseya.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">DRC authorities said on Thursday that anyone who had been in affected provinces would <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Com_mediasRDC\/status\/2070141956513055226\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">need to wait 21 days<\/a> before they could travel onwards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, is the largest on record for five weeks after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/may\/15\/ebola-outbreak-drc-africa-deaths\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">declaration<\/a>. At the same stage, the west Africa outbreak of 2014 to 2016, which infected more than 28,000 people and killed more than 11,000, had 239 cases and 160 deaths.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Computer models were used by the WHO to simulate three trajectories \u2013 low, central or high transmissibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">There are signs that the DRC\u2019s response is working to slow transmission, the authors said, and current figures are most in line with the central scenario, predicting between 6,636 and 10,287 cases by 16 September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The worst-case scenario projects 66,000 confirmed cases by September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Kaseya said 30% of new cases are among known contacts of confirmed cases, indicating \u201chuge, huge community transmission\u201d. Authorities intend to recruit 20,000 community health workers from the local area to boost contact tracing efforts, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Bed occupancy in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ebola\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Ebola<\/a> treatment centres is at 95% and \u201cwe didn\u2019t reach the peak yet\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">He said camps in which displaced people were living \u201chave cases, and because we don\u2019t have access to these camps, we cannot have the contact tracing. We cannot have a photo of what\u2019s happening there. We cannot stop this outbreak, without resolving the humanitarian issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Africa CDC and the WHO had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/speeches\/item\/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-launch-of-joint-bundibugyo-ebola-virus-continental-strategic-preparedness-and-response-plan-5-june-2026\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">earlier said $518m (\u00a3392m) of health spending<\/a> would be needed to tackle the outbreak. When humanitarian needs are added, the total rises to $1.4bn, Kaseya said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Only about 13% of $910m pledged to the response by international governments and organisations has so far been supplied, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The first trial of drugs that may be able to treat the Bundibugyo virus is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2026\/06\/24\/ebola-treatment-trials-gilead-remdesivir-mappbio-mbp-134\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">due to begin in the DRC next week<\/a>, while a trial of an antiviral given to contacts to prevent them developing the disease will begin a week later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/global-development\/global-development\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Global development<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/global-development\/global-health\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Global health<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/ebola\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Ebola<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/congo\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/science\/infectiousdiseases\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Infectious diseases<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/world-health-organization\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">World Health Organization<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Whereabouts%20of%20nearly%20300%20people%20with%20Ebola%20unknown%20in%20DR%20Congo%20&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/jun\/26\/whereabouts-of-nearly-300-people-with-ebola-unknown-in-drc?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development%2F2026%2Fjun%2F26%2Fwhereabouts-of-nearly-300-people-with-ebola-unknown-in-drc&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=global-development\/2026\/jun\/26\/whereabouts-of-nearly-300-people-with-ebola-unknown-in-drc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-axwinp\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Health workers disinfect a coffin at Kigonze displaced persons camp in Bunia, DRC last week. More than 1 million people live in similar camps to which health workers have no &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2043\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2043","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\/2043","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=2043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2043\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}