Ebola strain in Congo-Uganda outbreak has no vaccine or treatment, causes often deadly symptoms
Also: WHO considers use of experimental vaccines as Ebola cases and deaths rise in DRC (The Guardian)
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Source: CBS News
Ebola strain in Congo-Uganda outbreak has no vaccine or treatment, causes often deadly symptoms
By Nicole Brown Chau
Updated on: May 19, 2026 / 2:16 PM EDT / CBS News
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is of particular concern to global health officials in part because the virus detected is a less common strain.
The suspected cases rose sharply, as of May 19, to more than 500 with at least 131 deaths, according to health officials in Congo.
One American doctor working with a missionary group in Congo has tested positive, and several others are believed to have been exposed.
The virus behind this outbreak is the Bundibugyo virus, health officials have confirmed. This is only the third known outbreak of this virus, and there are no vaccines or treatments.
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Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebola-outbreak-bundibugyo-congo-uganda-vaccine-treatment-symptoms/
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Source: The Guardian
WHO considers use of experimental vaccines as Ebola cases and deaths rise in DRC
WHO chief said he was ‘deeply concerned’ after at least 500 suspected Ebola cases and 130 deaths reported in outbreak of Bundibugyo strain
Kat Lay in Geneva
Tue 19 May 2026 17.06 BST
First published on Tue 19 May 2026 10.03 BST
Global health leaders are considering whether vaccines or medicines still in development could be used to fight Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the World Health Organization’s chief said he was deeply concerned by the outbreak’s speed and scale.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there had been at least 500 suspected cases of Ebola and 130 suspected deaths in DRC since the new outbreak began – up from about 200 cases and 65 deaths when it was announced on Friday.
Dr Mesfin Teklu Tessema, senior director of health at the International Rescue Committee, which works in the DRC’s Ituri Province, where most cases have been reported, told the Guardian he expected current known cases were “the tip of the iceberg”.
Spread across the porous border to South Sudan, he said, was probably “a matter of when”. He warned that a weak public health infrastructure there meant “we are actually flying blind”.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/19/ebola-outbreak-drc-who-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-deeply-concerned
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