A total of 238 “suspicious deaths” have been recorded to date due to the Ebola virus epidemic, declared on May 15 in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Congolese Government reported this Thursday.

These deaths correspond to the count prepared until Tuesday (05/26/2026), indicated the Executive in its latest bulletin on this health crisis published by the Ministry of Communication, in which it also specifies that "1,077 suspected cases" have already accumulated.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 222 suspicious deaths as of May 27.

“Surveillance, detection and community awareness operations continue to be intensified, despite operational challenges reported on the ground,” added the DRC Ministry of Communication.

The outbreak was detected in the province of Ituri, bordering Uganda and South Sudan and the epicenter of the epidemic, but has spread to the eastern Congolese provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, as well as neighboring Uganda.

Confirmed cases in Uganda

In Uganda, the number of confirmed cases - all in the capital, Kampala - rises to seven, including one death (a Congolese citizen who is considered an imported contagion).

The Ugandan Government announced yesterday, Wednesday, the temporary closure of its border with the DRC to prevent further spread of the virus in its territory.

The outbreak corresponds to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, whose fatality rate ranges between 30% and 50% and for which there is no authorized vaccine or specific treatment, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The virus probably began circulating in Ituri about two months before the outbreak was declared, according to the WHO, which on May 17 classified the epidemic as a “public health emergency of international importance.”

Last Friday, the WHO raised the risk of the outbreak in the DRC and Uganda from "high" to "very high", while the risk remains "high" at the level of the sub-Saharan Africa region and "low" on a global scale.

Ten African countries are at “high risk” of being affected by the epidemic in the DRC and Uganda, as they share a border with those two nations.

This is the 17th outbreak recorded in the DRC since the virus was first detected in 1976.

The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with body fluids of infected people or animals and causes severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.

India quarantines four people after suspected Ebola case

Four people have been quarantined due to a possible case of Ebola in the western Indian state of Gujarat, after a traveler from the Congo developed a fever and was hospitalized, authorities confirmed.

"Five days ago, a person named Amuri Lokula arrived in Mumbai from the Congo (...) During this time, Amuri Lokula developed fever and cold symptoms, which led to his admission to a hospital in Vadodara. We transferred him to the Civil Hospital (in Ahmedabad) as a precautionary measure," informed the Minister of Health of Gujarat, Praful Pansheriya, in a press conference on Wednesday.

"He has been quarantined and his blood samples have been sent for analysis. At the moment, there is no confirmed diagnosis," the minister added.

Three other people who were in contact with the individual - his two traveling companions and a doctor - were also placed in preventive quarantine despite not showing symptoms of illness.

India has not reported any case of Ebola in the midst of the epidemic declared on May 15 in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).