Nearly 600 children with suspected or confirmed measles have died since March, while hospitals across the country are struggling to cope with hundreds of new admissions each day. Medical facilities remain under severe pressure as doctors attempt to isolate infected patients and prevent further transmission.

Health experts fear large-scale population movement during the Eid holidays could accelerate the spread of the highly contagious disease, particularly in rural areas with limited access to healthcare services.

The outbreak has overwhelmed pediatric wards in several hospitals, prompting renewed calls for expanded vaccination efforts and stronger public health measures to contain the crisis.

The newly identified cases include a Ugandan driver who transported the country’s first confirmed Ebola patient and a healthcare worker who was exposed to the virus while caring for the same individual, the ministry said in a statement.

A Congolese woman was also confirmed to have contracted the disease, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed infections to five.

Health authorities did not immediately provide additional details on the conditions of the patients or whether further contacts were being monitored. The latest infections underscore the risks faced by frontline medical personnel and individuals who come into close contact with infected patients during outbreak investigations.

Uganda has previously experienced several Ebola outbreaks and has developed response mechanisms that include contact tracing, patient isolation and public health surveillance aimed at limiting transmission.

The confirmation of additional cases is likely to heighten monitoring efforts by health officials as they seek to prevent wider community spread and identify potential chains of transmission linked to the initial patient.

Ebola is a severe viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated materials. Outbreaks require rapid detection and containment measures to prevent further spread.

The attack occurred in Rwampara, near the epicenter of the outbreak in Ituri Province, where local youths stormed and burned parts of a treatment facility after a man believed to have died from Ebola was denied a traditional funeral, according to witnesses and police officials.

Authorities said the confrontation stemmed from public resistance to emergency burial protocols designed to prevent transmission of the highly contagious virus.

Under outbreak regulations, suspected Ebola victims must be buried by trained teams because bodies can remain infectious and contribute to further spread.Deputy Senior Commissioner Jean Claude Mukendi, head of public security in Ituri Province, said relatives and friends of the deceased attempted to take the body home despite official restrictions. Police intervened but were unable to prevent the unrest.

Witnesses reported that aid workers evacuated the facility as protesters entered the center and set fire to equipment and structures. Humanitarian organization ALIMA, which operates at the site, later said calm had been restored and medical teams had resumed their work.

The incident highlights the growing challenges facing Congolese authorities and international aid agencies as they confront an outbreak that the World Health Organization has designated a public health emergency of international concern.Health officials reported 671 suspected cases and 160 suspected deaths across two provinces as of Thursday.

The outbreak has also crossed borders, with neighboring Uganda reporting cases, including at least one death.The WHO and regional health authorities have warned that the true scale of the outbreak is likely significantly larger than official figures indicate. Surveillance efforts are continuing as investigators seek to identify additional infections and trace transmission chains.

The outbreak is centered in Ituri Province, a region affected by chronic insecurity, weak healthcare infrastructure and large-scale population displacement. More than 920,000 internally displaced people are living in the province, according to United Nations estimates, complicating disease surveillance and response efforts.

Health experts say the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak presents additional challenges because no approved vaccine or specific treatment is currently available. Officials estimate it could take at least six to nine months before a vaccine becomes available.The virus has now spread beyond Ituri and North Kivu provinces.

On Thursday, authorities reported the first confirmed cases in South Kivu Province, including a death near the city of Bukavu, approximately 500 kilometers south of the outbreak’s center.The disease circulated undetected for weeks after the first known fatality in late April, partly because initial investigations focused on more common Ebola strains previously seen in the country.

Health authorities have yet to identify the outbreak’s first infected patient.The escalating crisis has begun to affect international travel and regional events. India and the African Union announced the postponement of the India-Africa Forum Summit scheduled for next week in New Delhi, citing the evolving health situation in parts of Africa.

The United States has also imposed screening measures and travel restrictions for individuals recently arriving from affected countries.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids and can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and severe hemorrhagic symptoms.

Public health officials say rapid detection, isolation and community cooperation remain critical to containing the outbreak.

India’s foreign ministry said the two sides agreed to delay the summit, originally scheduled for May 28-31, citing the “emerging public health situation” across parts of Africa. The ministry said fresh dates for the gathering would be announced later.

The decision comes after the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo posed a high regional risk, although the threat remained low globally.

The WHO said the virus had likely been circulating undetected for months before the outbreak was officially declared last week.

The latest outbreak, the 17th recorded in Congo, has already been linked to 139 suspected deaths from roughly 600 probable cases, according to health authorities. Ebola, a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever, has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past five decades.

India said it stood ready to support Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention-led efforts aimed at containing the outbreak and strengthening public health response systems across the continent.

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport issued a health advisory on Thursday for passengers arriving from Democratic Republic of Congo as well as neighboring Uganda and South Sudan, reflecting growing concern over cross-border transmission risks.

The India-Africa Forum Summit is one of New Delhi’s key diplomatic platforms for engagement with African nations, covering trade, development cooperation, infrastructure and strategic partnerships. The postponement marks a rare disruption to the high-level forum amid heightened global vigilance over infectious disease outbreaks.

Officials said the virus likely circulated undetected for weeks because initial testing focused on more common Ebola strains. No approved vaccine currently exists for the Bundibugyo variant, with WHO estimating any targeted vaccine could take six to nine months to develop.

The outbreak is unfolding in conflict-hit areas of eastern Congo, where insecurity, population displacement and weak health infrastructure are complicating containment efforts.

The US State Department elevated the three countries to its highest advisory level, “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” while also advising citizens to reconsider travel to neighboring Rwanda due to its proximity to affected regions.

The advisory followed new emergency measures announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including enhanced airport screening procedures for travelers arriving from outbreak-hit areas and temporary visa-related restrictions.

US health authorities said non-American passport holders who had traveled to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo or South Sudan within the previous 21 days would face restrictions on entry into the United States.

The CDC said the risk of Ebola spreading within the United States remained low but confirmed it was coordinating the evacuation of an American doctor infected with the virus in the DRC, along with six additional individuals undergoing medical monitoring.
German authorities said on Tuesday they were prepared to receive the infected US doctor for treatment.

The latest outbreak involves a strain of Ebola for which no approved vaccine or treatment has yet proven effective, according to health officials.

The CDC said it was expanding technical support for authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and working with international partners to strengthen surveillance and containment operations.

The US State Department said Washington was mobilizing approximately $13 million in emergency assistance to support the response.

Questions have also emerged regarding whether recent funding cuts to the United States Agency for International Development affected outbreak preparedness and monitoring capabilities in the region. US officials declined to directly address concerns about whether reductions in USAID resources had weakened health response infrastructure.

US President Donald Trump said he was concerned about the outbreak but described the situation as currently confined to Africa.

Ebola, a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever first identified in 1976, has killed an estimated 15,000 people globally over the past five decades. Depending on the strain, fatality rates can reach as high as 90 percent.

Public health experts have long warned that fragile healthcare systems, regional instability and population displacement in parts of Central Africa complicate efforts to rapidly contain outbreaks.

The WHO said the outbreak did not yet meet the threshold for a pandemic emergency but warned that countries bordering Congo faced a heightened risk of further spread as infections expanded across eastern regions and new cases emerged in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

According to the agency, 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected infections had been reported as of Saturday in Congo’s Ituri province, particularly in the health zones of Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.

The Congolese health ministry had earlier confirmed that at least 80 people had died in the outbreak, which health officials believe may be significantly larger than currently documented because of high positivity rates in early testing and increasing numbers of suspected infections.

The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease, a rarer variant for which no approved vaccines or targeted therapeutics currently exist, unlike the more common Ebola-Zaire strain that has been the focus of previous immunization campaigns in Central Africa.

The WHO described the situation as “extraordinary,” warning that international transmission had already been documented.

In Kampala, two unrelated laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases, including one death, were identified on Friday and Saturday in travelers arriving from Congo, according to the agency. A confirmed case was also detected in Kinshasa involving a traveler returning from Ituri province.

The WHO urged governments to activate national emergency-response systems, intensify border screening and strengthen surveillance along internal transportation routes to contain further spread.
The agency also advised that confirmed Ebola patients and close contacts should avoid international travel except for medical evacuation purposes.

It recommended immediate isolation of confirmed cases, daily monitoring of contacts and restrictions on domestic travel for exposed individuals until 21 days after potential infection.

At the same time, the WHO cautioned governments against shutting borders or imposing sweeping trade restrictions, warning that such measures could push movement across unofficial crossings beyond the reach of health monitoring systems.

The outbreak poses an additional challenge for regional health systems already strained by conflict, population displacement and limited medical infrastructure in eastern Congo, where previous Ebola epidemics have repeatedly tested emergency response capacities.

A first group of passengers, all Spanish nationals and none displaying symptoms of infection, disembarked from the ship into small boats as the vessel approached the Port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Spain’s health ministry said.

Spanish officials said the passengers would be transported in sealed military buses directly to Tenerife’s airport before being flown aboard a government aircraft to Madrid for hospital evaluation and quarantine measures.

Authorities said all passengers would undergo testing by Spanish health officials before onward transport. Foreign nationals are expected to be repatriated in stages using specially arranged flights coordinated by their respective governments rather than commercial air services.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, or ECDC, classified all passengers and crew as high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure in rapid scientific guidance issued late Saturday. The agency said symptomatic passengers should receive priority medical evaluation and testing upon arrival and may either remain isolated in Tenerife or be medically evacuated home depending on their condition.

Thirty crew members are expected to remain aboard the vessel, which will later sail to the Netherlands for disinfection operations, according to Spanish authorities.The ship departed waters off Cape Verde earlier this week after the World Health Organization and the European Union requested Spain coordinate the evacuation effort following confirmation of the outbreak.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Tenerife on Saturday alongside senior Spanish ministers to oversee preparations for the ship’s arrival and passenger transfer operations.The WHO said eight people aboard the vessel had fallen ill, including three fatalities involving a Dutch couple and a German national.

Six infections have been laboratory confirmed, while two additional cases remain under investigation.Hantavirus is primarily transmitted through exposure to infected rodents, though health officials say limited person-to-person transmission can occur in rare circumstances.

The WHO has assessed the risk to the wider global population as low while describing the threat to passengers and crew aboard the vessel as moderate.Spanish authorities said evacuation operations were expected to continue throughout the day under strict biosecurity protocols at Tenerife’s Port of Granadilla.

Tedros said he would travel to Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands to oversee the disembarkation of passengers, crew members and medical personnel from the Dutch-flagged cruise vessel MV Hondius, which is carrying around 150 people.“I arrived in Spain, where I will join senior government officials in a mission to Tenerife to oversee safe disembarkation,” Tedros said in a post on X.

Three passengers a Dutch couple and a German woman have died after contracting hantavirus during the voyage, while several others have fallen ill, according to health officials.The outbreak has drawn heightened international attention after authorities confirmed infections linked to the Andes virus strain, the only known hantavirus variant capable of transmitting between humans.

Most hantavirus infections are typically spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings.Tedros said he had remained in direct contact with the ship’s captain, Jan Dobrogowski, and WHO physician Freddy Banza-Mutoka, who is on board the vessel.

“At this stage, there are no additional people on board showing symptoms of hantavirus,” Tedros said, adding that the World Health Organization continued to monitor the situation closely.

He also said the health risk to residents of the Canary Islands and the broader international public remained low.The MV Hondius is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, where Spanish authorities have prepared surveillance and containment measures before arranging special flights to return passengers to their home countries.

Spain’s government said Tedros would meet Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid before traveling to the Canary Islands alongside Spain’s health and interior ministers.Spanish ministry officials said the WHO chief would join a command center in Tenerife responsible for coordinating health controls, interagency cooperation and emergency response protocols linked to the ship’s arrival.

The incident has intensified scrutiny over infectious disease preparedness aboard international cruise vessels, particularly involving pathogens with rare but potentially serious transmission characteristics.

The WHO said at least one case of the rare viral infection had been confirmed, with one patient in intensive care in South Africa and two others awaiting possible medical evacuation from the vessel, which is currently stationed off Cape Verde.South Africa’s Department of Health said the first victim, a 70-year-old man, died onboard before his body was removed at Saint Helena.

His wife later collapsed at an airport in South Africa and died in hospital. A third victim remains onboard the ship.The cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said local authorities in Cape Verde had inspected the vessel but had not authorized disembarkation. Two crew members with symptoms requiring urgent care remain onboard pending further decisions by health officials.

The ship departed Argentina around three weeks ago on a voyage that included stops in Antarctica and the Falkland Islands and was scheduled to end in Spain’s Canary Islands. South African officials said approximately 150 passengers were onboard, along with about 70 crew members.

Hantaviruses are primarily transmitted through contact with infected rodents and can cause serious illnesses, including hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe respiratory condition. While infections are rare, the WHO said limited human-to-human transmission is possible and investigations, including laboratory testing and epidemiological tracing, are ongoing.

A British national who fell ill after the ship left Ascension Island is currently being treated in Johannesburg. South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases has initiated contact tracing to assess potential exposure among individuals who may have come into contact with infected passengers.

The WHO said it is conducting a full public health risk assessment in coordination with national authorities and the ship’s operator, while medical care continues for those affected onboard.