WHO Chief says suspected Ebola deaths at 220 as epidemic ‘outpacing us’

Thursday, 28 May 2026 05:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there have been 220 suspected deaths in the current Ebola outbreak and that a delay in detecting cases meant responders are now “playing catch-up.”

“We are urgently scaling up operations, ‌but at the moment, the epidemic is outpacing us,” Ghebreyesus said yesterday, adding that countries bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) should take immediate action.

Earlier yesterday, Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, taking its total number of confirmed cases to seven.

In a post on social media on Sunday, the WHO Chief said that as surveillance efforts have been scaled up in the DRC’s Ebola response, more than 900 suspected cases have been identified so far.

Ebola is a viral disease that spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It can cause severe bleeding and organ failure, leading to death.

Last week, the WHO declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola a public health emergency of international concern, and fear has gripped the streets of cities in the DRC

and Uganda.