At least 65 dead after Ebola outbreak confirmed in Democratic Republic of the Congo, officials say
Healthcare workers walk outside the Ebola treatment centre in Beni, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. (2019). (Photo by Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) – An Ebola outbreak has been confirmed in the Ituri province in Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of the latest update, about 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths have been reported, mainly in Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, officials said.
Africa CDC said that preliminary lab results from the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) have detected Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples tested. Four deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases.
The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo’s last Ebola outbreak was declared over after more than 40 deaths.
“Africa CDC is closely monitoring the situation and convening an urgent high-level coordination meeting today with the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan and global partners to reinforce cross-border surveillance, preparedness and outbreak response efforts,” officials said in a statement Friday.
-ABC News’ Rashid Haddou contributed to this report
Ebola survivors leave the ALIMA Ebola Treatment Center at Rwampara General Hospital following their recovery from the disease, as a health worker sits beside a disinfectant sprayer and disinfects their shoes during discharge procedures on June 16, 2026 in Rwampara near Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo. (Michel Lunanga/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has surpassed 1,000 Ebola cases as the country’s deadly outbreak continues.
The DRC Ministry of Health reported 1,003 confirmed cases and 254 confirmed deaths as of Sunday evening. There are 365 patients either hospitalized or in isolation, according to the ministry.
Contact tracing remains a concern, officials said. The Ministry of Health said only 58% of identified contacts have been followed up with, far below the desired 90% to 95% target needed to contain the outbreak, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Bonheur Baeni, project manager for the Ebola emergency for the humanitarian NGO CARE, told ABC News that there has been a great amount of misinformation in affected communities that has made it difficult to contain the virus.
“It is in fact among the great challenges, the misinformation that is characterized by rumors, rumors that circulate on social networks, rumors that also circulate mouth-to-mouth,” he told ABC News in French. “It really makes the population resistant.”
Baeni said the group is working with the Ministry of Health and other partners to engage with the community and answer questions that people have. They are also working with trusted leaders within the community to help combat the misinformation.
“You see that it creates a climate of trust,” Baeni said. “It creates a confidence climate because it’s their brother, it’s a member of the community.”
The Ministry of Health wrote on X that “response teams continue active investigations, epidemiological surveillance, and prevention actions in affected areas.”
Health officials added that eight more people have recovered from Ebola, bringing the total number of recoveries to 100.
Meanwhile, UNICEF warned on Monday that an estimated 2.95 million children and adolescents aged 18 and under — representing 54% of the population in 31 affected health zones — are at risk from Ebola and the breakdown of essential services in the eastern DRC.
“Our teams in Ituri [province] have met children who have lost their mothers, and in some cases both parents, to Ebola,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director, said in a statement. “Children are trying to make sense of the threat while surrounded by rumors and online misinformation.”
UNICEF said children and adolescents make up about 15% of confirmed Ebola cases and more than 25% of confirmed deaths in the eastern DRC as of June 19, and that children and adolescents with confirmed Ebola are almost twice as likely to die as adults
In Ituri province, which is the epicenter of the outbreak, dozens of children have been orphaned, according to UNICEF. The agency said that 135 of those children are receiving support, including psychosocial care.
In neighboring Uganda, there are at least 20 confirmed cases, in large part linked to cross-border transmission from the DRC, and two deaths, according to UNICEF. The agency said children have also been affected in Uganda, with at least one child who has tested positive and 19 children under quarantine monitoring.
“Children are especially vulnerable because they depend on caregivers and cannot distance themselves from a sick parent or sibling in the same way that an adult can,” Russell said. “To better protect children, we need sustained access, and the resources needed to reach every affected community.”
ABC News’ Dada Jovanovic and Zoe Magee contributed to this report.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), during a healthcare affordability event in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, May 18, 2026. (Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News on Monday that his agency is working to address the recent hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks, marking the first time he’s commented publicly on the Ebola outbreak since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed than an American had been infected with the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Yeah, we’re working on it,” Kennedy told ABC News when asked if he was worried about the outbreaks. The secretary’s comments come after the CDC said a “small number of Americans” are directly affected by the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC.
Kennedy did not respond when asked what his message might be to Americans who are concerned about the diseases potentially spreading in America. He told reporters in the Oval Office last week that the U.S. had the hantavirus outbreak “under control.”
“We have this under control and we’re not worried about it,” he said at the White House’s maternal healthcare event on May 11th. Kennedy also noted that the CDC has been working on the outbreak since day one.
The CDC said there have been no confirmed hantavirus cases in the U.S. linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship and 18 passengers remain under observation at the University of Nebraska.
Meanwhile, Kennedy’s brief comments about the outbreaks came following a roundtable event announcing nearly $1 billion in new funding to states to address PFAS in drinking water at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday.
The secretary has been on a midterm blitz recently, touting the administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement during stops including Ohio and California.
At a subsequent event featuring Kennedy and other health leaders at the White House, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Heidi Overton stressed that “there are no cases of Ebola in America.”
Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Heidi Overton stressed during the event that “there are no cases of Ebola in America.”
“We want to keep it that way and we are doing everything we can to support Americans in the region,” Overton added.
Close-up of examination table in doctor’s office (Grace Cary/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Fewer than 49% of Americans can afford healthcare, the lowest rate since tracking began in 2021, according to Gallup data released Thursday.
In a single year, roughly 2.8 million people no longer identified as being “Cost Secure” meaning they could no longer afford access to quality care or pay for visits and prescriptions, according to the data. Worry about future healthcare costs, including visits and prescriptions, amongst Americans is also at an all-time high of over 40%, according to Gallup.
Gallup developed what it calls the “Healthcare Affordability Index,” which is sponsored by West Health, in 2021 drawing on self‑reported experiences from nationally representative surveys. The latest data comes from a study conducted between October and December of 2025, according to Gallup and West Health.
Healthcare has become a financial burden across income levels, according to the new data. According to the index, one in three upper-middle income households ($120,00 to $180,000) are not cost secure, nor are one in five households earning above $180,000.
Young adults, aged 18-29, have experienced the sharpest decline in ability to afford healthcare with those identifying as “cost secure” dropping 7 percentage points in a year.
Women continue to trail behind men when it comes to affording healthcare.
Between 2021 and 2024 the difference between men and women being able to afford care was 9% but in 2025 the gap widened to 15%, making it the largest gender gap in healthcare affordability on record.
Healthcare and inflation continue to rise with healthcare spending reaching $5.3 trillion in 2024. This, in part, is due to hospital prices increasing to 3.4% in 2024, the fastest rate increase since 2007, and insurance premiums going up by 20% after the expiration of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
With many Americans experiencing significant healthcare-related financial challenges, studies show that this can lead to significant consequences, including delaying or deferring care, leading to worse health overall.
Torie A. Livingston, MD, MPH, is a third-year pediatric resident physician at the University of Chicago and is a medical intern of the ABC News Medical Unit.
