WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Tuesday that a rare Bundibugyo Ebola variant is spreading swiftly througgh eastern Congo,with suspected deaths rising to 131 and more than 500 suspected cases reported.. health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said investigations are under way to confirm whether all the cases are linked to the virus, while the WHO has declared a public health emergency of international concern.

131 suspected deaths and 513 cases push Congo into emergency mode

According to the WHO, the outbreak now includes 131 suspected fatalities and 513 suspected infections across the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, near the Ugandan border. Confirmed cases have been identified in the towns of Bunia, Goma, Mongbwalu, Nyakunde and Butembo, prompting a rapid mobilisation of medical teams and supplies.

Bundibugyo variant lacks approved vaccine or treatment

The strain responsible, the Bundibugyo virus, is a rare form of Ebola for which no licensed therapeutics or vaccines exist, a fact highlighted by the WHO report. This scarcity of medical countermeasures heightens the urgency for international aid and experimental drug access, as the virus spreads through bodily fluids such as blood, vomit and semen.

Uganda records its first death linked to the Congo outbreak

Uganda has confirmed a single death in a traveller who returned from the affected Congolese regions, underscoring the cross‑border risk.. Health officials in both countries are coordinating surveillance and contact‑tracing efforts, but the WHO notes that the speed of transmission could outpace current containment measures.

Who is investigating the outbreak’s origin?

Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba announced that a joint task force of Congolese epidemiologists and WHO experts is probing the source of the surge, seeking to verify whether the spike in deaths truly reflects Ebola infection or includes other causes. as of now, the investigation’s findings remain unpublished.

What remains unclear about the epidemic?

Key unknowns include the exact proportion of suspected cases that will be laboratory‑confirmed,the effectiveness of any experimental therapies being considered, and how quickly neighbouring countries can scale up border health controls. The WHO and partners have pledged resources,but the report stresses that the response still falls short of the scale required.