Ebola
As Ebola cases spread across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and into Uganda, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has launched a response to protect vulnerable communities and support an already overstretched health system.
Here's what you need to know about Ebola, the current outbreak, and how the IRC is launching an emergency response to support infection prevention and control efforts.
What is Ebola?
Ebola is a virus characterized by fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, and in some patients, bleeding. Initial symptoms are nonspecific, making it difficult to diagnose quickly and patients can take up to 21 days to develop them at all.
The virus is contracted through direct exposure to bodily fluids from an infected person or a contaminated animal. People are not infectious until they develop symptoms, but Ebola becomes most contagious in the disease's late stages. According to the World Health Organization, the virus remains contagious for up to three days after a victim dies which is why burial practices can contribute to new cases spreading.
Patients who receive early treatment have a higher chance of survival and are less likely to infect others.
What is the new strain of Ebola?
This outbreak is happening in one of the most difficult places to run a health response.
As of mid-May 2026, health authorities have recorded dozens of deaths and hundreds of suspected cases in the DRC. Two confirmed cases and one death have also been reported in Uganda, both linked to travel from DRC.
The World Health Organization has declared this a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) — the highest level of global health alert, reserved for outbreaks that pose a serious risk beyond the country where they started.
What makes this outbreak especially alarming is the specific strain of Ebola involved. It's called the Bundibugyo strain, and laboratory analysis indicates that unlike the strains the world has dealt with before, there is currently no licensed vaccine or approved targeted treatment for it. In past outbreaks, vaccines were a critical tool. Here, that option doesn't currently exist. That means stopping this outbreak depends entirely on finding cases fast, isolating people who are sick, and keeping health workers protected.
As Heather Kerr, IRC DRC Country Director, put it: "Every delay has a human cost."
A health worker screens patients for Ebola symptoms at Beni Hospital, North Kivu, DRC, during the 2018 Ebola outbreak.
Ebola can worsen DRC’s humanitarian crisis
Eastern DRC has faced decades of armed conflict, and ongoing insecurity means response workers face real dangers reaching affected communities. The DRC faces a longstanding humanitarian crisis, ranking 7th on the IRC’s Emergency Watchlist. It has appeared on IRC’s Watchlist consecutively for the past decade.
Fragile health systems, extreme poverty, and the ongoing impact of funding cuts have left millions of people in the region vulnerable. In some areas, health facilities have almost no protective equipment left for workers to use safely. When those systems fail, a disease like Ebola can spread further and faster before anyone realizes what's happening.
Goma, a busy, densely populated city and major transit hub has now recorded cases which is cause for concern.
Fear and misinformation also make things harder. When people don't trust the information they're getting, they avoid health centers and the virus finds more opportunities to spread.
How does Ebola spread, and who is most at risk?
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of someone who is sick or has recently died from the disease. New cases can occur among family members and others who have had close physical contact with a patient, including through burial rituals.
The spread of Ebola can be reduced by washing hands frequently with soap and water. Contact tracing is also essential: after a person tests positive, contact tracers interview family members and others who may have been exposed, then monitor them for symptoms for 21 days.
Health workers disinfect a health facility in Mabalako, North Kivu, DRC, during the 2018 Ebola outbreak.
Women and girls are particularly vulnerable during Ebola outbreaks. In previous responses, pregnant women often couldn't get the care they needed. Rates of gender-based violence tend to rise during outbreaks, as do risks of exploitation and abuse. Frontline health workers are also at serious risk, especially when protective equipment is scarce.
How is the IRC helping?
The IRC has been responding to Ebola outbreaks in this region for years. During the 2018–2020 outbreak in North Kivu — the second largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded — the IRC worked across more than 70 health facilities in Beni, Mabalako, Butembo, and Goma. The IRC was also part of the response to the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak in Liberia and Sierra Leone. That experience is directly shaping what the IRC is doing right now.
Working alongside Congolese government health authorities who are leading the overall response, the IRC is:
- Getting protective equipment to health workers, many of whom currently have little to none due to funding cuts
- In Uganda, IRC is working with the Ministry of Health on the border to support infection, prevention and control activities and coordinate the response.
The IRC knows from experience that the way to stop an Ebola outbreak is through fast action, trusted community relationships, and unwavering support for the health workers on the front lines.
A health worker disinfects the grounds of Centre de Santé Mabolio in Beni, North Kivu, DRC, during the 2018 Ebola outbreak.
What needs to happen next?
This outbreak is a stark reminder of what happens when health systems in conflict-affected countries are left to crumble. Years of underfunding and the withdrawal of donor support have left eastern DRC without the tools needed to catch a disease like Ebola before it takes hold.
As world leaders met at the World Health Assembly in Geneva this week, the IRC made the case clearly: investing in health systems in fragile and conflict-affected countries is not charity. It is how the world protects itself.
Right now, what's urgently needed is international funding, coordinated action across the region, and unimpeded access for health workers to reach the communities that need them most.
Every delay costs lives.
How you can help
IRC teams are on the ground in eastern DRC today getting protective equipment to health workers, sharing life-saving information with communities, and working around the clock to contain this outbreak.
Your support makes that work possible.
