Discussion - Ebola outbreaks 2026 (DRC & Uganda)

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Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spiralled out of control – this expert says a ‘nightmare scenario’ is coming

As the DRC confirm more than 1,000 have died in what has already been declared the fastest outbreak in history, emergency medicine practitioner Dr Simon Mardel tells Joe Shute how this growing crisis is like ‘watching a train crash in slow motion’ and why it’s so much worse than those he witnessed in the past

Wednesday 22 July 2026 16:18 BST

As the number of confirmed cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo climbed past 1,000, there is few people looking at these horrific numbers with as much knowledge and seriousness as Simon Mardel. Over the past three decades, the 69-year-old NHS consultant in emergency medicine has been at the forefront of the world’s worst Ebola outbreaks.
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Of particular concern, he says, is the lack of understanding about the true scale of the current outbreak and how far and how fast it is spreading through undetected cases. “I think it’s safe to say it could be unprecedented,” he says. “The words an epidemiologist should never want to hear are ‘unrecognised chains of transmission’.”
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His biggest immediate fear is that the current outbreak will reach Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, with 250 million citizens. The virus flared up there in the 2014 outbreak, and Dr Mardel was involved in its containment. He says that only an astonishing amount of good fortune prevented the disease from fully taking hold, and warns it will not be the same a second time around.

“The potential to amplify in hospitals is phenomenal,” he says. “You could get one in and potentially 20 or 30 or even 50 coming out.”
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https://www.independent.co.uk/world/ebola-outbreak-democratic-republic-of-congo-b3019451.html

 

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I am starting to wonder about whether "unrecognized" means something more than a high percentage of infected people slipping through contact tracing and that perhaps there is an unrecognized vector. I have read that there are some clusters where the molecular clock slowed for most of the genome except for NP which could mean that all of those community deaths are creating the right environment for an increase in the period of viability outside of the body. This is an active area of research so we unfortunatly won't know the answers for some time but here is some recent work: https://www.researchgate.net/public...avirus_BDBV-2026_genomes_reported_from_Uganda

 

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US quarantined citizens at New York military base after return from Congo, sources say

By Jacob Bogage and Yasmeen Abutaleb
July 22, 20269:18 AM CDT Updated 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - U.S. health officials quarantined 14 American citizens at a New York military base for four days after a recent return from ​the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an Ebola outbreak is underway, according to records seen by Reuters and two people familiar with the situation.

The travelers, who were returning via Canada, were not ‌symptomatic for Ebola and were deemed not to be at risk of transmitting the disease, the people said. There is no U.S. order in place preventing citizens returning via land, although a "do-not-board" order issued this month requires U.S. citizens in Congo to quarantine for at least 21 days before they can return via a commercial flight.
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According to the sources, the travelers included recently naturalized U.S. citizens who were visiting family in Congo.

Attempting to return home, two families — including two young teens and a 70-year-old — flew ​to Canada, but were stopped when they attempted to ​reenter the U.S. by land on Thursday through ports ⁠of entry in Vermont and New York, the people said.

The families spent Thursday night at the crossing in Vermont and were transported on Friday to Fort Drum, a U.S. Army base about 30 miles from the Canadian border, where they were housed in apartment-style quarters and placed under observation by CDC officials before they were released on Monday. Members ​of the group continued to their final destinations by bus and plane, the people added.
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https://www.reuters.com/business/he...se-after-return-congo-sources-say-2026-07-22/

 

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Canada has implemented new border measures this week in response to the Ebola outbreak:

New Temporary Border Measures in Response to the Ebola Disease Outbreak

From: Public Health Agency of Canada

Statement

July 19, 2026

From: Public Health Agency of Canada
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As of Monday, July 20, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT, any foreign national who was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo within the past 21 days will be prohibited from entering Canada. To support this measure, an Interim Order under the Aeronautics Act is also in place, requiring commercial and private air carriers to not permit foreign nationals to board a flight to Canada.
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https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...-cases-and-deaths-may-2026/page22#post1038690

 

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1:44 AM · Jul 25, 2026​

 

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Wamba, Haut-Uele
/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wamba,_Haut-Uele
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I am not familiar with this source.​

Translation Google

Haut-Uele/Ebola: “All of Wamba risks being exterminated” – MP Madilu raises the alarm and pleads for urgent aid

Ueleinfo24
July 27, 2026

The Wamba Territory, considered the epicenter of the Ebola epidemic in Haut-Uele, is on the brink of collapse. Lacking resources, the response team is no longer able to provide care for the sick and the deceased. The alert comes from provincial deputy Prosper-Salomon Madilu Motugbu.

In an exclusive interview given to ueleinfo24.net this Sunday, July 26, 2026, the elected representative of Wamba denounces a glaring lack of logistics in his territory, located about 120 km from the capital of the province, which is Isiro.

"Today, the response team lacks the necessary resources to deal with this disease. There are no vehicles, let alone any other means of transport to transport a deceased person, or even to transport a person declared infected , " he laments.

An image that went viral on social media shows the response team transporting a body on a stretcher. According to the MP, this reflects the actual situation at Wamba General Hospital.

According to Prosper-Salomon Madilu, the lack of proper care has already caused several deaths. Worse still, preventative measures are not being respected because the population is not sufficiently aware of them.

"If we are not careful, all of Wamba risks being exterminated by this disease ," warns the senior official of the UDPS, Haut-Uele federation.

The provincial representative also accuses the provincial authorities of a lack of commitment.

"At the provincial level, there is no sense of political will to stop this disease by putting in place all the necessary measures: handwashing facilities, means of transport, in short, the logistics ," he says.

Faced with the emergency, Prosper-Salomon Madilu Motugbu is making a direct appeal to the central and provincial governments to provide Wamba General Hospital with ambulances for transporting Ebola patients and those who have died from the virus. He also requests that the provincial government allocate $70,000 to the health team responsible for mobilizing resources according to the needs of the emergency response and the requests of experts on the ground, in order to prevent the spread of this disease, which does not discriminate based on social status.

"I am pleading for urgent assistance to the population of Wamba, which continues to record cases of Ebola deaths. Because, as they say, health is priceless ," the elected official concluded.

Editorial​

​https://ueleinfo24.net/haut-uele-eb...ette-dalarme-et-plaide-pour-une-aide-urgente/

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9:48 AM · Jul 26, 2026

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Translation Google

Ebola: Haut-Uélé receives 3 ambulances

Saturday, August 1, 2026 - 11:53

The central government handed over three new ambulances to the Haut-Uélé province on Friday, July 31, 2026, to strengthen the response to the Ebola virus disease epidemic.

This donation, accompanied by a batch of medical equipment, aims to improve the care of patients and the interventions of health teams in the affected areas.

The official handover ceremony for this equipment was presided over by the provincial governor, Jean Bakomito Gambu, who welcomed the significant support from the central government. He indicated that these three ambulances complement the two others already acquired by the provincial government, thus strengthening the logistical capacity of the response.

"Thanks to these three ambulances donated by the central government, in addition to the two acquired by the provincial government and another vehicle destined for the Wamba health zone, we now cover the five health zones affected by the epidemic," said the governor.

Jean Bakomito said that this allocation reflects the commitment of national authorities to support the health system in the face of the Ebola epidemic, while stressing that these resources will facilitate the transport of patients and the interventions of response teams.

For his part, the president of the Haut-Uélé Provincial Assembly, Justin Zamba Ndezu, thanked the central government for this assistance. He also urged the population to respect preventative measures in order to limit the spread of the disease.

It should be noted that this assistance comes at a time when this province is facing enormous difficulties in transporting patients.

Reagan Bin Kakani, in Bunia

https://7sur7.cd/index.php/2026/08/01/ebola-le-haut-uele-dote-de-3-ambulances

 

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North Kivu -

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9:20 AM · Aug 1, 2026​​
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Translation Google

Ebola: Response suspended after attack on ambulance by resistance fighters in Beni

August 1, 2026

Beni, August 1, 2026 (ACP) - Ebola response activities were suspended this Saturday in Beni, North Kivu, (in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo), following an attack on an ambulance by young resistance fighters in the "Cité Belge" neighborhood, an attack which triggered violent altercations and warning shots from the local police, the response communicator told ACP.

“These gunshots that have just been heard are the result of an altercation between law enforcement (police) and a group of young resistance fighters. They attacked the ambulance transporting a patient being transferred to the Ebola treatment center by a local organization. These demonstrators came to the new treatment center under construction with the intention of setting it on fire. This forced us to suspend all activities on the construction site and send the workers home to avoid the worst,” lamented Mr. Philémon Kambale, communications officer for the Ebola response coordination team in Beni.

He also announced that investigations are underway to track down the perpetrators of these acts in order to bring them to justice.

All response activities have been temporarily suspended in the health areas of Cité Belge and Benengule, where construction work on a care center is nearing completion.

The communications officer for the response, who fears a slowdown in the eradication of the Ebola virus disease in the near future, believes that this kind of wild behavior gives the virus the opportunity to become more entrenched in the community.

He finally called on the authorities to fully commit to securing the response teams, currently exposed to threats from the resistance fighters. ACP/Ch/KMS.

https://acp.cd/science-sante-enviro...que-dune-ambulance-par-des-resistants-a-beni/

 

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1:16 PM · Jul 31, 2026​

 

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Related to post #97:

Translation Google

Béni : The patient who caused the alterations was referred to the Ebola treatment center

August 2, 2026

Beni, August 2, 2026 (ACP).- The sick woman who caused the altercations on Saturday at the La Joie medical center in Beni in North Kivu, East of the Democratic Republic of Congo between the police and demonstrators against the epidemic has been referred to the Ebola treatment center, an official from this health facility told ACP on Sunday.

“ Our patient, who was at the origin of the standoff between the police and the resisting bandits, was finally referred to the general referral hospital in the evening, even though this woman was dying. We experienced an unusual adventure, I would even say a real war movie with projectiles and warnings (...), although the police intervened, the demonstrators had just caused material damage by breaking the windshield of the ambulance ,” said Giscard Kimbwa, head nurse of the La Joie medical center.

" We commend the coordination team for coordinating a swift and professional intervention, both for the transport of the patient and for the police; otherwise, the tragedy would have been serious if the police had not come; we would have lost the patient and even we, the healthcare staff, would have been beaten up by these protesters ," he added.

This altercation, followed by warning shots fired by the police, caused the suspension of response activities at this health area and at the new care center under construction, where workers were forced to return home.

The Ebola response coordination team has deployed teams to raise awareness among the population and advocacy groups about the dangers of the Ebola virus disease. ACP/Ch./kms

https://acp.cd/province/beni-le-malade-a-lorigine-dalterations-refere-au-centre-de-traitement-ebola/

 

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Related to posts # 97, 98, 99

North Kivu -

Translation Google

Acts of resistance against Ebola response teams are increasing in Butembo and Beni

Published on Mon, 03/08/2026 - 09:21 | Modified on Mon, 03/08/2026 - 09:22

As the Ebola epidemic continues to spread in North Kivu, response teams are facing a resurgence of resistance in the cities of Butembo and Beni. Refusal to evacuate patients, opposition to safe burials, and attacks on health facilities are complicating efforts to control the disease, according to several reliable sources.

These incidents are reminiscent of the difficulties encountered during the tenth Ebola epidemic between 2018 and 2020, when rumors and misinformation severely disrupted the health response in this part of the province.

In Butembo, in the Kyaghala neighborhood, a team tasked with a secure burial faced opposition from several residents on Friday, July 31. The residents demanded that the coffin be opened to verify the identity of the deceased, suspected of having died of Ebola.

A video widely shared on social media shows several young people handling the body, despite the measures planned for safe burials.

In Beni, on Saturday, August 1st, residents of the Cité Belge neighborhood also opposed the transfer of a patient suspected of having Ebola to a treatment center. The ambulance carrying her evacuation was pelted with stones, requiring police intervention.

Targeted healthcare facilities

The situation is causing increasing concern among those involved in the response following several attacks against health infrastructure.

Between last Tuesday and Thursday, the Crinovic hospital and the Zawadi health post in Butembo were set on fire. According to local sources, these acts are linked to rumors targeting teams involved in the fight against Ebola.

On June 11, the Katwa Ebola Treatment Center had already been the target of an attempted attack.

According to health authorities, Butembo remains the epicenter of the 17th Ebola outbreak in North Kivu. Of the 325 confirmed cases recorded in the province as of July 27, 220 originated in this area.

The increasing number of acts of resistance raises fears of a slowdown in surveillance operations, patient care and prevention of new infections.

Faced with this situation, health authorities and response partners are reiterating the importance of community collaboration and combating rumors, which are considered one of the main obstacles to controlling the epidemic.

https://www.radiookapi.net/2026/08/...stance-aux-equipes-de-riposte-contre-ebola-se
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Translation Google​

Ituri: Ebola response workers in Mongbwalu threaten to paralyze operations, denouncing three months of unpaid bonuses.

Mon 03/08/2026 - 17:13

The response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak could face a serious slowdown in the Mungwalu health zone of Ituri province. Frontline healthcare workers have sent a memorandum to the President of the Republic denouncing the non-payment of their bonuses for the past three months and demanding better working conditions.

Gathered as a group, the strikers released their statement, which was read by Dr. Alex Bogole. They affirmed that they are continuing their mission under difficult conditions, despite the risks associated with the epidemic and the reluctance of some communities towards the response teams.

In their memorandum, they also pay tribute to ten colleagues who died while participating in the fight against Ebola, including Dr. Serge Bamanga, Adabayi Muzungu, Toyabo Samuel, Jean-Baptiste Bura, Bienfait Jaryeko, Jérôme Undé, Agenonga Gilbert, Bakambu, Tito and Jonathan Imbalambai.

The agents are denouncing, in particular, three months of unpaid bonuses, a lack of transparency in the remuneration scales, disparities between stakeholders, and a lack of visibility on the payment of sums owed.

“Despite our commitment and the sacrifices made in this response, we have now gone three months without bonuses. We demand the immediate payment of arrears, the standardization of bonuses and the reinstatement of all excluded staff. Failing that, we demand the departure of local technical partners and health zone officials,” they stated in their memorandum.

In response to accusations targeting certain partners in the response, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) clarifies that these demands do not concern its staff or its administrative management.

"These strikes are not related to human resources management or MSF's employment practices. The concerns expressed by the health workers relate to the payments of staff mobilized in the response to the epidemic, which are the responsibility of the competent authorities," the organization stated.

MSF confirms, however, that strike action has been observed in several Ebola treatment centers, including the one in Mongbwalu, while noting that its own staff continues to be paid in accordance with its commitments.

The organization nevertheless insists on the need to find a solution quickly in order to preserve efforts to combat the epidemic.

"Health workers play an irreplaceable role in the response to this epidemic and it is essential that they are paid as soon as possible for their work, carried out in extremely difficult conditions," MSF stresses.

This social crisis comes as Ituri remains the epicenter of the 17th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A continuation of this movement could further weaken the surveillance, treatment, and awareness-raising operations being carried out in the most affected areas.

https://actualite.cd/2026/08/03/itu...ongbwalu-menacent-de-paralyser-les-operations

 

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Ebola virus behind massive outbreak in DRC could be mutating, officials say
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Kat Lay Global health correspondent
Thu 6 Aug 2026 12.18 EDT
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The outbreak is now the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record. There are eight times more cases, and six times more deaths than were recorded 11 weeks into the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014-18, which infected more than 28,000 people and killed at least 11,000.

Kaseya said he had spoken to the director general of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and they planned studies “to check if there is no additional issue, or maybe if the virus is not mutating. Because the level of severity of this Bundibugyo outbreak is unprecedented.”

More than two-thirds of Ebola deaths are happening in the community rather than in treatment centres. In a treatment centre run by MSF in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, 90% of admitted patients do not appear on authorities’ lists of contacts of known cases. Both factors indicate high levels of untracked transmission.
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Dr Wessam Mankoula, acting head of emergency preparedness and response at Africa CDC, said response teams planned a shift “from contact tracing to active case search”, which would mean community health workers “moving from door to door” asking households if they had anyone sick with Ebola symptoms.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/06/ebola-virus-drc-mutating

 

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12:51 PM · Aug 6, 2026
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Distance between Mambasa and Komanda
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Ebola: Civil society deplores the risks associated with transporting samples to Komanda

August 8, 2026

Bunia, August 8, 2026 (ACP) - The logistical difficulties encountered in transporting samples from the Mambasa and Mandima health zones to the Komanda laboratory in Ituri, in the Northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, for analysis were deplored on Saturday by the local head of the New Civil Society of Congo (SOCICO).

“With the long journey to Komanda, we don’t have fuel, we don’t have means of mobility, we pay for public transport to send the samples to Komanda. We deplore the risks associated with using public transport to transport the samples,” said Marie-Noëlle Anotane, coordinator of SOCICO/Mambasa.

Referring in particular to cases where those in charge of transport did not arrive at the destination laboratory, she recalled that public transport is a major source of Ebola transmission due to overcrowding, overloaded vehicles, and a lack of distancing which promote direct physical contact with infected people.

Ms. Anotane indicated that these difficulties could compromise the speed of case confirmation and, consequently, delay certain response interventions.

She therefore called on health authorities and response partners to strengthen logistical resources dedicated to the safe and rapid transport of samples, in order to ensure effective treatment and limit the risk of the spread of Ebola virus disease in the affected areas. ACP/NP(sp) & NM


https://acp.cd/science-sante-enviro...lies-au-transport-dechantillons-vers-komanda/

 

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3:46 PM · Aug 8, 2026
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Translation Google

Ebola outbreak: "Unfortunately, the way things are going, this is going to last for months," warns Yazdan Yazdanpanah

Published on Monday, August 10, 2026 at 7:45 AM
France Inter

From the podcast
The 7:50 guest
By Alexis Morel

Yazdan Yazdanpanah, head of the infectious diseases department at Bichat Hospital in Paris and an infectious disease specialist, gives an update on the Ebola epidemic and new treatments in clinical trial phase.

With Yazdan Yazdanpanah
Gastroenterologist and infectious disease specialist, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department at Bichat-Claude-Bernard Hospital, director of ANRS-Emerging Infectious Diseases

With at least 4,000 cases and 1,800 deaths, the new Ebola outbreak that began in mid-May in the Democratic Republic of Congo is " one of the largest Ebola epidemics, second only to the 2014-2016 outbreak in terms of numbers ," explains Yazdan Yazdanpanah. " The epidemic was detected late ," laments the head of the infectious diseases department at Bichat Hospital in Paris, and is occurring "in a war zone, in an insecure area where medical coordination is complicated."

No specific treatment or vaccine

The virus " is not a new variant ," says Yazdan Yazdanpanah. " It's a variant that has existed before; we already had an epidemic in 2007 and 2012 in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo." Vaccines and treatments exist for the Zaire strain, the most common, but not for the variant currently circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "There are vaccine candidates being studied against this strain, and clinical trials have begun ," explains the infectious disease specialist. The ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases unit is working on a clinical trial for a treatment. The urgent need is also to " increase diagnostic testing " and " protect healthcare workers ," explains Yazdan Yazdanpanah, given that 150 cases have been detected among healthcare workers.

Low risk of import

“ Unfortunately, the way things are going, this is going to last for months ,” predicts Yazdan Yazdanpanah. “ The last epidemic in the DRC, from 2018 to 2020, lasted two years, and yet we had a vaccine ,” recalls the professor of medicine at Paris-Cité University. For him, it is “ also important that Europe, and France in particular, invest in the future to try to prepare for these epidemics, ” even if the probability of the epidemic being imported is not high, according to Yazdanpanah. “ It’s not Covid; the transmission isn’t respiratory, it’s through contact ,” the doctor clarifies.

https://www.radiofrance.fr/francein...-invite-de-7h50-du-lundi-10-aout-2026-2842024

 

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8:30 AM · Aug 10, 2026

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7:05 AM · Aug 10, 2026​​​

 

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Tshopo -

Ebola in Kisangani: Unpaid frontline workers protest

Mon 10/08/2026 - 11:11

On Saturday, August 8, staff at the Ebola treatment center in Kisangani threatened to release patients due to unpaid services since the first imported case was detected in Tshopo.

“The authorities have abandoned frontline workers to their sad fate,” they declared outside the Ebola treatment center. Starting Sunday, August 9, only a skeleton staff will be operating, “in order to continue resuscitation and the care of critical cases.”

According to the signatories of the declaration, "the only support from the partner (MSF) is the reimbursement of transportation costs." Since they began treating Ebola patients, "frontline providers have not received any funds released for the response," they stated.

"If there is no solution, we will release the patients who are here at the CTE and close the site," they concluded their message.

Five patients are currently hospitalized at the CTE (Emergency Treatment Center) at the Cinquantenaire. Tshopo has already recorded two locally acquired cases, alongside seven imported cases.

Gaston Mukendi, in Kisangani

https://actualite.cd/2026/08/10/ebola-kisangani-grogne-des-prestataires-de-premiere-ligne-impayes
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Video (in French):

8:02 AM · Aug 9, 2026​

 

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North Kivu -

Translation Google​

Ebola in Butembo: REHDO NGO calls on authorities to sanction community resistance

Published on Wed, 12/08/2026 - 13:17 | Modified on Wed, 12/08/2026 - 13:17

The Ebola response continues to face strong community resistance in Butembo. As the city has become the epicenter of the outbreak in North Kivu province, health facilities are being burned and healthcare workers targeted by youths and unknown individuals. The local NGO REDHO, the Network for Human Rights, is calling for judicial investigations.

Although Butembo has now surpassed 300 confirmed cases of Ebola and has more than 209 deaths, according to response data, community resistance continues to complicate the fight against the disease.

The Human Rights Network reports that several incidents targeting healthcare teams and facilities are recorded almost daily. Its coordinator, Muhindo Wasivinywa, testifies:

“Several incidents of attacks on staff and fires at health facilities are recorded almost daily in the city of Butembo. Four health facilities have been burned down and more than seven attempts have been thwarted.”

REDHO regrets the resistance of certain individuals, which is at the root of this crime, risking the persistence of the disease in the area. It calls on the security services and judicial authorities to "conduct thorough investigations so that the perpetrators of the damage are identified, apprehended, and brought to trial under summary proceedings ."

Butembo is a major commercial center in North Kivu, through which thousands of people pass every day. This high level of mobility is a major challenge for controlling the epidemic.

https://www.radiookapi.net/2026/08/...pelle-les-autorites-sanctionner-la-resistance