What to know about the outbreak of a rare kind of Ebola as cases and deaths rise

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.

Africa’s top public health body confirmed the outbreak in Congo’s Ituri Province on May 15. The case count has risen to around 150 suspected deaths and more than 600 suspected cases.

Health authorities say the outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus, a rare type of Ebola that has no approved medicines or vaccines. The outbreak is occurring in a part of Congo facing conflict caused by armed rebel groups and the displacement of large numbers of people fleeing the violence.

“This is a context that is incredibly complicated to try to manage,” said Lina Moses, an epidemiologist and disease ecologist at Tulane University who worked as a first responder coordinating contact tracing during the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak.

Here’s what to know:

How Ebola can spread

Ebola disease is highly contagious and can be transmitted to people from wild animals. It spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and with contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing.

The disease is rare but severe and often fatal in people. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding.

The first Ebola virus to be identified was in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now Congo. The first outbreaks occurred in remote villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests.

What the WHO’s emergency declaration means

The WHO says the latest Ebola outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, such as COVID-19, and advises against closing international borders.

Its emergency declaration is meant to spur donors into action. However, the global response to previous declarations has been mixed.

When the WHO declared mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa as a global emergency in 2024, experts at the time said it did little to get supplies like diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines to affected countries quickly.

An array of aid agencies are trying to help. WHO representatives in Congo said organizations on the ground included UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, Médecins Sans Frontières, the World Food Program and the Red Cross.

Where the outbreak started

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the first cases were reported in late April in Bunia, the capital of Congo’s Ituri Province, and the nearby Mongbwalu health zone, a high-traffic mining area. However, officials say they are not certain of the source and the outbreak may have started weeks earlier and gone unnoticed.

Ituri is in remote eastern Congo, with poor road networks and health facilities, and is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the capital, Kinshasa.

The Africa CDC said a major concern is that Ituri Province borders Uganda and South Sudan, raising the risk of Ebola crossing into other countries. Two cases, including one death, have been reported in Uganda in people who traveled from Congo, authorities said.

The agency said there’s also a risk of further spread due to intense population movement and attacks by armed groups that have displaced thousands of people in parts of Ituri in the past year.

Which kind of Ebola is spreading

The WHO says Ebola is caused by a group of viruses, and three kinds are known to cause large outbreaks: Ebola virus, Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus.

The Bundibugyo type of Ebola is rare and different from the Ebola virus, sometimes known as the Zaire virus, that has been dominant in Congo’s previous outbreaks.

It was first detected in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that killed 37 people. The second time was in 2012 in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 29 deaths were reported. The current outbreak is the worst known one linked to the Bundibugyo virus.

Dr. Gabriel Nsakala, a professor of public health who has been involved in past Ebola responses in Congo, said the country has extensive experience managing Ebola outbreaks, but response efforts could be complicated by the unusual type.

The initial response was delayed because health authorities first tested for the more common Ebola virus.

What is being done to respond

When the outbreak was confirmed, the Africa CDC convened an urgent high-level meeting with health authorities from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, together with key partners including U.N. agencies.

A WHO technical advisory group is looking at candidate vaccines that could be prioritized for clinical trial, though experts caution this will take time, likely months.

Funding is also a challenge following recent aid cuts to Africa by the United States and other rich nations.

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Magome reported from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Saleh Mwanamilongo in Bonn, Germany, contributed to this report.