DRC - 17th Ebola outbreak : per DRC MoH May 22, 904 suspected cases incl. 220 probable deaths - May 2026+ - WHO declares a PHEIC

[sharon sanders]

Ebola: Bunia closed to flights, Uganda
Saturday, May 23, 2026 - 18:22

The Ebola Bundibugyo epidemic is beginning to disrupt regional air traffic. In the same day, two decisions to suspend flights were announced, one on the Congolese side, the other on the Ugandan side.

Bunia closed

The Congolese Ministry of Transport, Communication Routes and Unlocking published an official statement on Saturday suspending all flights to and from Bunia airport, capital of Ituri province, until further notice. No aircraft is allowed to land or take off. Commercial, private and special flights are all affected. Humanitarian, health or emergency flights can only be authorized after special approval from the aeronautical and health authorities.

Uganda Airlines suspends flights to Kinshasa

In a public notice published on the same day, Uganda Airlines announced the suspension of all its flights to and from Kinshasa, as of May 23, 2026, until further notice. The company cites "the recent developments related to Ebola in the region" and indicates that this decision was made "as a precautionary measure in the interest of the health, safety and well-being of passengers, crews and the general public."

Neither decision specifies a date of lifting.

https://actualite.cd/2026/05/23/ebol...oogle_vignette

From the World Food Programme -


Date: 2026-05-23 Bunia Airport Closed - Temporary Restrictions


No aircraft is authorized to land at or take off from Bunia Airport until further notice. All commercial, private, and special flights to or from Bunia are suspended. Crews and airline operators are required to strictly comply with the health and safety guidelines issued by the competent authorities. Humanitarian, medical, or emergency flights may only be authorized with special approval from aviation and health authorities. (Source: Ministry of Transport - DRC - 05/23/2026)

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Created by United Nations General Assembly resolution 46/182 in 1991, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is the longest-standing and highest-level humanitarian coordination forum of the United Nations system. It brings together the executive heads of 19 organizations and consortia to formulate policy, set strategic priorities and mobilize resources in response to humanitarian crises.

https://logcluster.org/en/alerts

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Hat tip to Treyfish:



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1:04 PM · May 23, 2026
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I translated the first image with Google and underlined some text in red.

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(Screenshot)




6:47 AM · May 22, 2026

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12:11 PM · May 24, 2026

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Error in today’s official DRC Ebola bulletin

The health zone distribution table has an error in the Suspected Deaths (Décès suspects) column. The total is shown as 119, but the actual sum from all zones is 220.

Ituri Province:

Aru (1) + Bambu (2) + Bunia (48) + Kilo (2) + Mongbwalu (88) + Nizi (2) + Nyankunde (8) + Rwampala (69) + Samples with no file (Échantillons sans fiche)

(0) = 220

Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu zones are all 0.

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AD.nl
@ADnl
Translated from Dutch
The patient who was admitted to Radboudumc on Friday with a suspected Ebola virus infection is not infected with it after all.

Radboud University Medical Center:

Translation Google

(screenshots)



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https://www.radboudumc.nl/nieuws/2026/patient-met-lage-verdenking-op-ebola-opgenomen-in-hliu

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Asymptomatic American Medical Missionary Evacuated from DRC Releases Statement from Prague Hospital


Serge FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Holly McAfee
Director of Communications, Serge
news@serge.org
101 West Avenue, Suite 305
Jenkintown, PA 19046
www.serge.org
______________________________________

Asymptomatic American Medical Missionary Evacuated from DRC Releases Statement from Prague Hospital

Prague, Czech Republic — May 24, 2026 — Serge, an international Christian missions organization, confirmed today that American medical missionary, 46-year-old Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, continues to remain asymptomatic in a Prague hospital. Over the last 72 hours, Dr. LaRochelle has isolated in a BioBox chamber after high-risk exposure to Ebola. He is an Internal Medicine and Pediatrics physician who teaches and mentors medical students, provides specialty consultations, and facilitates quality medical care at Centre Medical Evangelique (CME) Bunia Hospital in Bunia, DRC.

Today, Dr. LaRochelle shared a written update with Serge leadership:

It is hard to be separated from my family, friends, and colleagues in Congo. I’m thankful to the Czech people for allowing me to come and be monitored here, and to the many people who worked night and day to get me and the Staffords to care. I want to thank God that my teammate Peter Stafford is recovering from Ebola—and that his wife Rebekah, his children, and I have remained free of the infection thus far. Standing helpless as Peter worsened prior to his medical evacuation, I had a glimpse of the reality that my Congolese friends and colleagues are living constantly, and for which a medical evacuation is not an option.

I can say that I have seen the commitment of the Congolese doctors leading the response. And I’ve seen the context in which they are working: an outbreak already out of control by the time it was recognized, a region in a constant state of conflict between multiple rebel groups since 2017, a province 1000 miles away from the capital, and a health system under-resourced both in diagnostic and treatment capacity. The challenges are overwhelming, and it’s easy for me to lose hope. But what gives me hope is my colleagues who are fighting for the lives of every patient, risking so much to follow their call to heal the sick, and then many hundreds and thousands—both Congolese and expatriate—who are mobilizing to come fight Ebola with them. We are encouraged by their lives and are honored to know them and serve alongside them. We are amazed to see them not flinch or draw back in the face of so much danger and chaos.”

Patrick remains in contact with Congolese colleagues who have sent updates from the regions most affected by the outbreak.

• Dr. D, a medical director, shared that he’s going to the camp more often than normal to model to his staff that continuing to care well for this community and maintaining their trust is the most important way to love them and mitigate the spread of this disease.
• Nurse T had no masks, gloves, or gowns. The LaRochelles were able to supply those with the help of their network, and Nurse T is continuing to care for this community of 8,000 displaced people at one of the epicenters of the epidemic. He is courageously leading people toward safe practices.

Dr. LaRochelle requests prayer on behalf of courageous Congolese medical workers and for the arrival of more protective equipment and treatments. He also asks for prayer that the transmission of this virus stops, and that a vaccine designed to treat this strain of the virus would be developed quickly. Serge requests prayer for Dr. LaRochelle and the Stafford family to remain healthy and for Dr. Peter Stafford’s condition to improve daily.

Out of respect for the family’s privacy, Serge requests that media outlets refrain from contacting family members directly or publishing images of the Stafford and LaRochelle children.

Additional updates will be provided as verified information becomes available.
Patrick’s bio box isolation chamber

Colleagues of the LaRochelles preparing to see an Ebola patient

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https://serge.org/blog/american-medi...blic-of-congo/

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As surveillance efforts have been scaled up in the #DRC Ebola response, more than 900 suspected cases have been identified so far, including 101 confirmed cases.

In Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, nearly 5 million people live amid ongoing conflict. Today, 1 in 4 people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 1 in 5 are internally displaced.

The violence is forcing people to flee, including health and humanitarian workers. This is severely impeding efforts to scale up Ebola contact tracing and identify infections early enough to provide supportive care. Ongoing insecurity and fear are also fueling mistrust within communities.

@WHO
and humanitarian health partners maintain a presence across Ituri, including in some of the hardest-to-reach and most insecure areas. Communities are facing not only the threat of Ebola, but also a wide range of diseases.

Our Health Cluster partners are supporting the delivery of:
* maternal, reproductive, newborn, child, and adolescent healthcare
* treatment of severe acute malnutrition with complications
* mental health services, wound care, and support for survivors of sexual violence
* medical supplies
* routine immunization
* community health services

Delivering a comprehensive package of healthcare services is essential - not only to meet urgent health needs, but also to build the trust that is critical for an effective Ebola response.




3:58 PM · May 24, 2026

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Translation Google

Ebola in Ituri: The military governor raises the alarm about an epidemic that is hitting a province already at war

Monday, May 25, 2026 - 2:17 PM

The military governor of Ituri, Johnny Luboya Nkashama, painted an alarming picture at the Africa CDC ministerial briefing on May 25, 2026, describing a province doubly besieged: by armed groups on one side, and by the Ebola epidemic on the other.

Across the province's 61 displacement sites, nearly 970,000 people live in overcrowded and malnourished conditions that exacerbate their vulnerability to disease.

The governor identified four major challenges: the deployment of personnel and equipment, hampered by the closure of airports, which were expected to reopen soon; the securing of treatment centers after the attacks recorded in Mongbwalu and Rwampara; communication with fragile and distrustful communities; and the strengthening of the capacity of intervention teams.

Recalling that Ituri had already experienced an Ebola epidemic in 2019, he emphasized the difference in context: the war there now makes every lost day irreversible. He welcomed President Tshisekedi's release of $20 million, while calling on the international community to mobilize immediately to avert what he described as a looming catastrophe.

https://actualite.cd/2026/05/25/ebola-en-ituri-le-gouverneur-militaire-tire-la-sonnette-dalarme-sur-une-epidemie-qui

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Translation Google

Burundi

Southern Region/Port of Rumonge: Panic of Ebola virus contamination

Those working at the port of Rumonge have been gripped by panic since the announcement of the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Medical teams and technical equipment are slow to be deployed. The chief medical officer of the Rumonge health district acknowledges the danger faced by the personnel assigned to monitor the disease.

By Félix Nzorubonanya
25/05/2026
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The buildings constructed at the port of Rumonge in recent years for Ebola virus disease control and surveillance have been destroyed by rising waters in Lake Tanganyika. This complicates the work of monitoring the disease, according to Dr. Alexis Nkurunziza, chief medical officer of the Rumonge health district.

He explains that two nurses are assigned to take the temperature of everyone entering or leaving. He believes these nurses are at risk of infection because temperature checks and traveler screening should be done in a suitable location, which is not currently the case.

A well-founded fear

BA, a trader at the port of Rumonge, emphasizes his deep fear that those who work there are highly exposed to the disease. And with good reason: the port is a major entry point for people arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Furthermore, following the statement by the Burundian Ministry of Public Health on the disease, he observes that nothing is being done to strengthen its control and surveillance.

He laments that many people are not taking precautions against this terrible disease, continuing to behave as if nothing is wrong.

No equipment or technical teams are on site, even though the majority of those passing through the port of Rumonge come from areas where the healthcare system is underdeveloped. Healthcare facilities there are insufficient or nonexistent.

Little information is circulating.

MN, a woman who runs a restaurant in the port of Rumonge, regrets that the preventative measures against the Ebola virus are not known by people who work at this port.

She points out that buckets of water for washing hands are not readily available in some places; the port has only one tap where water flows, while hundreds of people spend all day there.

Latrines have been destroyed by the rising waters of Lake Tanganyika, with all the resulting consequences for the health of the population.

She suggests that awareness sessions be conducted with people who embark or disembark from boats, as well as with people who carry out activities on them, to inform them of the attitudes and behaviors to follow in the face of this disease.

She notes that cross-border movements have intensified in recent months, increasing the risk of infection due to close contact.

The municipal risk management platform is on alert

Augustin Minani, the municipal administrator of Rumonge, reports that the risk and disaster management platform is on alert to monitor the population's behavior in the face of the disease on a daily basis.

He asks anyone who sees symptoms of this disease to alert health facilities or administrative authorities to evacuate suspects to the nearest health facility.

The administrator is asking the population to observe hygiene measures, to refrain from eating meat from dead wild animals, and not to touch a corpse without any protection.

https://www.iwacu-burundi.org/region-sud-port-de-rumonge-peur-panique-de-contamination-par-le-virus-ebola/

[Treyfish]

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
@DrTedros
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6m
#Ebola Bundibugyo virus update: - So far, 101 cases have been confirmed in the #DRC, including 10 confirmed deaths. But we know the epidemic in the DRC is much larger. There are now more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths. - #Uganda has reported two additional confirmed cases among healthcare workers, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to sevenu, including one confirmed death. We are continuing to scale up the response with our partners, and we expect more cases to be identified in the coming days and weeks. The sooner we can trace people with infections and identify their contacts, the sooner we can provide the care they need and bring this outbreak under control.

[tetano]

Two suspected cases in Italy (from Uganda)

In Lurate Caccivio, a small town in the Como area, the health protocol for suspected cases of Ebola has been activated. This was announced by the mayor Serena Arrighi, who in a note informed the citizens of the procedures put in place. And even the Ministry of Health with an official note speaks of "investigations on two people who returned from Uganda and were transferred to the Sacco". The two people would be part of a humanitarian mission.

Two people, who disembarked at 5.50 a.m. yesterday from Addis Ababa at Malpensa, coming from Uganda, had symptoms attributable to Ebola. For this reason, they were isolated and taken by the firefighters to the Sacco hospital in Milan to await the results of the tests: they were in fact subjected to all tests for diseases ranging from malaria to Ebola.

The two people who present the symptoms, both cooperators, are a 30-year-old man with fever, nausea and vomiting and a 33-year-old woman with a fever of 39, chills, mental confusion and vomiting. The two are in a group of 7 people - two families, one residing in Lurate and the other in another small municipality, Bulgarograsso - and among them there is also a one-year-old girl who has had malaria. For this reason, investigations are also being carried out to look for traces of Plasmodium, the parasite that causes this disease. In Uganda, at the moment, there are few certified cases of Ebola, much less numerous than those recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Among the people in quarantine in Lurate Caccivio was also the parish priest who allegedly came into contact with people who had returned from Africa.

The results of the tests for Ebola will arrive between late afternoon and evening today. Those for other diseases in a short time.

https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2026/05/25/news/ebola_lurate_caccivio_test_protocollo_sanitario_sbarcati_malpensa-425369129/?ref=RHLF-BG-P3-S1-T1-r35678

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Calm returns to Mungwalu after tensions surrounding an Ebola-related death

Published on Mon, 25/05/2026 - 13:17 | Modified on Mon, 25/05/2026 - 13:28

Calm returned to Mungwalu, a rural commune located about 85 kilometers north of Bunia in the Djugu territory of Ituri province, on Monday morning, May 25, after a Sunday marked by high tensions and clashes around the local general referral hospital, the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the region. The incidents stemmed from the death of a well-known religious leader in the area, who succumbed to the Ebola virus. A group of young people, skeptical of the disease's existence, attempted to forcibly retrieve the deceased's body.

According to local sources, more than a hundred protesters stormed the Mungwalu hospital on Sunday at midday. Their aim was to oppose the health protocols related to the handling of the bodies of Ebola victims.

Faced with this tense situation, security forces intervened to disperse the demonstrators. Warning shots were fired to contain the youths, who were throwing projectiles at the Ebola treatment center facilities.

These clashes caused a temporary paralysis of socio-economic activities in the town, plunging residents and shopkeepers into anxiety.

A call for awareness and respect for preventative measures.

Faced with persistent mistrust among the population, several community leaders condemned these acts, believing that they compromise the fight against the epidemic.

Provincial deputy Jean-Pierre Bikilisende has launched an appeal for collective responsibility:

“We must respect medical guidelines. Don’t follow everything you read on social media. There are malicious people spreading false information claiming that Ebola doesn’t exist. That’s false, because even among medical staff, there are victims . ”

A context already marked by acts of vandalism

These events come just days after another serious incident. On Friday night, isolation tents for Ebola patients were set on fire at Mungwalu Hospital.

Taking advantage of this situation, thirteen Ebola patients escaped and remain at large. This escape poses a serious threat to the spread of the disease in the community.

These incidents illustrate the major challenges faced by health teams in the fight against Ebola in Ituri: insecurity, misinformation and community resistance.

Despite the apparent return to calm, the situation in Mungwalu remains fragile. Health authorities and local leaders are intensifying awareness efforts to restore confidence and encourage adherence to preventive measures.

https://www.radiookapi.net/2026/05/25/actualite/sante/retour-au-calme-mungwalu-apres-des-tensions-autour-dun-deces-lie-ebola

[Treyfish]

They return from Uganda with a fever, the two Italian cooperants tested negative for Ebola

"Also negative tests for malaria and for the main respiratory viruses"

ROME, May 25, 2026, 9:10 PM

Two Italian cooperants hospitalized at the Sacco hospital in Milan, after returning from Uganda with fever and other symptoms, tested negative for the Ebola virus.

This is communicated by the Ministry of Health.

The two cooperants were subjected, "as a precaution", to specialist clinical evaluation as part of the monitoring activities with reference to the Ebola disease epidemic that developed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Ministry of Health, through the Department of Prevention, is in contact with the Lombardy Region and is also participating in the Civil Protection Operational Committee as part of the ongoing coordination and monitoring activities. The ministry will continue to "provide official updates based on the evolution of the epidemiological picture. The risk in Italy remains very low".

"The virological tests performed at the reference laboratory of the. Sacco Hospital in Milan gave a negative result. Patients also tested negative for malaria and for the main respiratory viruses currently monitored." This is announced by the regional councilor for Welfare, Guido Bertolaso on the two co-workers hospitalized in Lombardy with symptoms compatible with Ebola virus infection. The hypothesis, at the moment, is that of "an infection of bacterial origin affecting the gastrointestinal system".

https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cronaca/2026/05/25/tornano-dalluganda-con-la-febbre-negativi-al-test-per-lebola-i-due-cooperanti_febf5999-9daf-4e36-9478-05a1f8b30897.html

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Related to posts #146 and 148

Translation Google



Lombardy News / Health

Author: Davide Bertani Optimized for the web by: Moreno Gussoni

The two patients at the Sacco hospital in Milan tested negative for Ebola.



Bertolaso: they contracted a gastrointestinal tract bacteria

"The virological tests performed at the reference laboratory at Milan's Sacco Hospital have yielded negative results." This was announced by Guido Bertolaso , Lombardy's Regional Welfare Councillor , referring to the two suspected cases reported in the past few hours and hospitalized in Lombardy with symptoms consistent with Ebola virus infection . The patients also tested negative for malaria and the main respiratory viruses currently being monitored .

Ebola patients test negative, subjects under observation

"The clinical conditions of the two subjects remain under observation by infectious disease specialists. In light of the initial diagnostic results," Bertolaso continues, "one of the hypotheses currently being considered is that of a bacterial infection affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Both subjects tested positive for Shigella ."

Further microbiological and cultural investigations are underway.

Bertolaso: No public health concerns needed

"At this time, there are no grounds for public health concern . If the correct timing and procedures had been followed this morning," the councilor concluded, "the media alert that required a significant deployment of resources and operational activities could have been avoided."

• Published on May 25, 2026
• Post ID: 579936
• Type: Articles

Download PDF

https://www.lombardianotizie.online/lnotizie-sanita-assessore-bertolaso-entrambi-i-pazienti-sono-negativi-allebola-hanno-contratto-batterio-a-carico-dellapparato-gastroenterico/

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4:27 PM · May 25, 2026