Fear as health officials raise alarm over new Ebola outbreak in DR Congo

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]People in the town of Ruampara in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are fearful as health officials raise the alarm over a new outbreak of Ebola.

[00:00:10]It is one of two health zones in Ituri province that are at the epicenter of the latest eruption of the deadly virus with at least 80 dead and 246 suspected cases.

[00:00:23]We are very afraid. Since the beginning of May, many people have died and it keeps happening. We are very afraid.

[00:00:30]What's happening is that someone has a headache, a fever, or stomach ache. They die after a while. Nearby there was a young man under 30. He arrived in the village yesterday and today we heard he's dead.

[00:00:44]Ituri borders both South Sudan and Uganda and as concerns rise about a potential regional spread, Kampala's reported one imported death. The continent's top health body, Africa CDC, has called for an urgent meeting between the three countries and global partners to reinforce cross-border surveillance and response efforts.

[00:01:05]When someone dies, it's the young people who dig the graves and carry the body with their bare hands without gloves or masks and this leads to the spread of this disease and we risk losing these young people.

[00:01:19]We don't know what kind of disease it is, but it's very dangerous because if one member of a family falls ill, they take the whole family with them.

[00:01:32]The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say initial findings suggest the presence of a non-Zaire strain of Ebola. It says this will complicate the response as existing treatments and vaccines were developed for this version of the virus.