UPDATE: More than a month after the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, doctors warn that “the epidemic will last”
Global Update:
Governments, analysts, and media outlets are continuing to follow this situation closely as additional details become available.
It was a rare moment of joy amid the Ebola epidemic: on June 16, 2026, health professionals broke out into song and dance to celebrate the successful treatment of three Ebola patients at the Mongbwalu general hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Health care workers wear broad smiles, visible now that they no longer have to wear masks, as they form a festive circle around a man, woman and child who have been cleared to leave the hospital. It is even more significant for the health personnel because the woman, Florance, is their colleague: she is the hospital’s accountant. Florance contracted the virus while handling the bodies of deceased patients, who remain contagious even after death. The hospital’s doctor, Héritier Masudi, explained: “Florance spent a lot of time with patients. One of her sisters had also caught the disease and died in our hospital. Florance did not wait for the symptoms to appear; she sought treatment immediately.” Heritier Masudi To display this YouTube content, you must allow advertising and audience measurement cookies. Accept Manage my options An extension in your browser appears to be blocking the video player from loading. In order to view this content, you must disable it on this site. Try again Cover image: © France 24 The treatment and recovery of 14 patients in Mongbwalu represents a small respite of hope for the teams carrying out the response, which is only now beginning to take shape. But health professionals and humanitarian workers say the situation remains serious in the 34 affected areas, more than a month after the epidemic was officially declared on May 17. More than 1,000 cases have been confirmed. ‘It’s as if we were blind’ Dr. Guyguy Manangama, an epidemiologist and deputy director of operations for the French medical organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has been monitoring the response to the epidemic. Although he is based in France, he has traveled frequently to the DRC: “We don’t have a clear idea of how the cases have been distributed. It is as if we are blind. Yes, statistics from June 15 show that there have been around 837 confirmed cases and 196 deaths in 34 areas across the DRC. However, not all “People who died in recent weeks have been tested: some may have died of Ebola or perhaps malaria or another infection. There are also many cases in areas we cannot reach for security reasons: in mining communities, for example, where many people cross borders back and forth.” To display this YouTube content, you must allow advertising and audience measurement cookies. Accept Manage my options An extension in your browser appears to be blocking the video player from loading. In order to view this content, you must disable it on this site. Try again Cover image: 2026-06-16 21:12 Ebola cases increase in DR Congo: security crisis limits medical aid © France 24 The epidemic was officially declared by the Congolese government and the World Health Organization (WHO) in mid-May 2026, but Dr. Manangama says that the alert had been received at the beginning of the month: “We are very late because the epidemic was declared on May 17 and the investigation was launched later. The WHO received the alert around May 5. We know that there were cases recorded much earlier, in April, perhaps even in early April. We do not know when the index case occurred (E.: patient zero, the first case identified in an epidemic). “We installed infrastructure for family visits” Meanwhile, in Mongbwalu, Dr. Masudi says that, despite everything, the situation is stabilizing now that humanitarian aid has arrived from NGOs like MSF. Workers and equipment from the National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB), the research laboratory of the DRC Ministry of Health, also arrived on June 3. Now, Masudi and his team can detect cases more quickly: “Before it was difficult because the samples were sent to the city, sometimes to Bunia or as far away as the capital (Kinshasa). And then some asymptomatic patients left the center because sometimes they had to wait up to two weeks for the results. But since the INRB installed a laboratory here, we no longer have that problem.” To display this YouTube content, you must allow advertising and audience measurement cookies. Accept Manage my options An extension in your browser appears to be blocking the video player from loading. In order to view this content, you must disable it on this site. Try again Cover image: © France 24 Care for Ebola patients has also evolved since the 2014 epidemic. Dr Manangama says both the development of monoclonal antibody treatments and changes in the way treatment centers are managed are important. “In 2014, Ebola treatment centers were completely closed. The only people patients saw entering those structures were healthcare professionals. They wore full-body suits that made them look like they came from outer space. It was terrifying for patients. That’s why we reformulated our strategy. We now made patients inside the treatment center visible from outside. We also installed fully protected corridors, infrastructure for family visits.” Sharp objects But Dr. Manangama says that one part of the response is still lagging far behind: contact tracing, that is, identifying every person who has been in contact with someone who is sick. Right now, we are tracing about 40% of contacts, but we will need to be between 90% and 95% to control the epidemic. If we are not careful, we could reach record numbers of cases. Manangama On the ground, Dr. Héritier Masudi says that medical teams also lack some basic supplies. The hospital does not have a blood bank. The few donors they have do so voluntarily. They also lack electrolytes, mineral salts essential for the functioning of cells, muscles and the heart, all weakened by the vomiting and diarrhea suffered by Ebola patients. To display this YouTube content, you must allow advertising and audience measurement cookies. Accept Manage my options An extension in your browser appears to be blocking the video player from loading. In order to view this content, you must disable it on this site. Try again Cover image: © France 24 Along with these medical difficulties, staff also face persistent hostility from a part of the population, especially when trying to hospitalize suspected cases. “When we are on the ground, sometimes people throw us out, brandishing sharp objects,” says the doctor. “Some villages don’t even want to see the vehicles of humanitarian organizations.” “Some believe that the disease is part of organ trafficking operations” The biggest obstacle to containing the outbreak is, perhaps, the distrust of the population. Miel Kaghulalo, an activist with the Lucha citizen movement, is based in Bunia, but travels regularly to Mongbwalu. He says paranoia is circulating in the affected communities. “I have seen that people have doubts about the origin of the disease. They wonder if what they are seeing (on the Internet or in the news) is really Ebola or if they are manipulated images. Some believe that the disease is somehow a ruse by organ traffickers. But our organization has verified that it is really an Ebola outbreak.” A member of health personnel in front of the center where suspected Ebola cases are classified, in Mongbwalu, in June 2026. © Héritier Masudi This uneasy distrust is heightened around burials, especially those carried out by health professionals for health and safety reasons, following a procedure considered “safe and dignified.” Kaghulalo explains: “People find it difficult to accept that their loved ones are buried by strangers in conditions they have never seen before. It is as if suddenly, out of nowhere, a loved one dies and you are told that you cannot touch their body.” In early June, attacks were carried out on a treatment center in Rwampara and another in Mongbwalu. The answer to this problem, says Guyguy Manangama, must involve the community. It involves working with local leaders and traditional healers, as well as relying on successfully treated patients, who become the best spokespersons for the response: “Patients who return to the communities are our ambassadors. They can speak about the quality of care they received, to help us dispel all rumors.” This article was adapted from its original English version.
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Source: This article was originally published by France 24 – Noticias y actualidad internacional en vivo and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.