SitRep 004
Report date 2026-05-19
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Public Health Emergency Operations Centre COUSP (public health emergency operations centre) DRC Situation Report on Ebola Virus Disease / 17th Outbreak - DRC SitRep MVE (Ebola virus disease) N° 004/2026
Affected provinces ITURI, NORD-KIVU Affected Health Zones ITURI: Mongbwalu, Rwampara, Bunia, Nyankunde, NORD KIVU: Goma, Katwa and Butembo Reporting date 19 May 2026 Publication date 20 May 2026
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| Affected provinces | Confirmed cases | Confirmed deaths | Probable cases | Suspected cases | Recovered of the day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ituri | 30 | 4 | ND | 131 | 0 |
| Nord-Kivu | 3 | 0 | ND | ND | 0 |
| Total | 33 | 4 | ND | 0 | 0 |
I. CONTEXT
The province of Ituri is located in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and shares a long border with Uganda and South Sudan. For more than two decades, it has been confronted with a chronic humanitarian crisis linked to armed conflicts and recurrent population displacements. It has an estimated population of more than 8 million inhabitants, including more than one million internally displaced persons.
In September 2018, this province was affected by an outbreak of Ebola virus disease that was raging in the neighbouring province of Nord-Kivu.
The health zone of Mongbwalu is one of the 36 health zones of the province of Ituri. Considered as the starting point of the outbreak, it is located in the territory of Djugu where several armed groups operate. It is located 70 km from Bunia, capital of the province of Ituri, with frequent population movements towards Uganda. This locality has the particularity of having several mining and construction sites that attract populations coming from other territories of the province and neighbouring provinces.
I. History of the outbreak
On the date of 05 May 2026, social networks declare a surge of deaths of unknown cause with nearly 50 deaths already recorded in the health zone of Mongbwalu. Following confirmation of this alert, the Chief Medical Officer of the health zone of Mongbwalu shares the report of the preliminary investigation on 09 May 2026. On 11 May 2026, the provincial health authorities organise an emergency meeting and decide to deploy rapid response teams to Mongbwalu and Rwampara, which had reported suspected deaths from viral haemorrhagic fever among patients admitted to the Centre médical Evangélique de Rwampara, coming from Mongbwalu.
The investigations conducted on 12 May 2026, simultaneously in the health zones of Mongbwalu and Rwampara by the Rapid Response Teams of the Provincial Health Division (DPS) of Ituri made it possible to note that most of the patients or suspected deaths had fever, headaches, vomiting, intense physical asthenia. The deaths occurred 2 to 3 days after the onset of the disease with a clinical picture of haematemesis, epistaxis or blackish vomiting. During the investigations in the health zone of Rwampara, 20 samples from suspected cases or deaths were taken. The majority of the persons sampled came from the health zone of Mongbwalu. Preliminary tests performed at the Bunia Laboratory were all negative for Ebola Zaire, dengue, Rotavirus, Cholera, Malaria, Yersinia pestis, mpox and COVID-19. These samples were sent to the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in Kinshasa for additional examinations.
On the date of 14 May 2026, 13 cases of these 20 samples were tested and 8 were found positive for non-Zaire Ebola virus disease at INRB Kinshasa. On 15 May 2026, sequencing of the positive samples allowed identification of the Bundibugyo strain, which enabled the Minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare (MSHPS) to officially declare the 17th outbreak of Ebola virus disease.
[FIGURE: Figure1. Location of the Mongbwalu health zone in the province of Ituri.]
II. HIGHLIGHTS
− 20 New Confirmed Cases on the date of 18 May 2026, including 18 in the province of Ituri and 2 in the province of Nord-Kivu. − As of 18 May 2026, cumulative total of 33 confirmed cases including 30 confirmed cases in Ituri and 3 in Nord-Kivu − Two affected provinces including Ituri (4 ZS (health zone): Bunia, Nyankunde, Mongbwalu and Rwampara and NordKivu (3 ZS: Katwa, Goma and Butembo). − Livestock farmers of the TSERE farm in the ZS Rwampara sensitised on the non-consumption of the meat of the 5 pigs that died of an otherwise unidentified disease and two showed haemorrhagic signs. Result: The 5 dead pigs were denatured buried;
III. SITUATION UPDATE
| Provinces | Health zones | Number of suspected cases | Number of suspected deaths | Number of Confirmed cases | Number of contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ituri | Mongbwalu | 302 | 74 | 1 | 161 |
| Ituri | Rwampara | 136 | 38 | 19 | 120 |
| Ituri | Bunia | 61 | 18 | 6 | 127 |
| Ituri | Nyankunde | 14 | 1 | 4 | 133 |
| Nord-Kivu | Goma | 1 | 0 | 1 | ND |
| Nord-Kivu | Katwa | 1 | 0 | 1 | ND |
| Nord-Kivu | Butembo | 1 | 0 | 1 | ND |
| Total | Total | 516 | 131 | 33 | 541 |
*These data are subject to change following harmonisation of data at different levels of the health pyramid with the incident management system.
| Alert indicators | Bunia | Rwampara | Nyankunde | Mongbwalu | Nizi | Lita | Bambu | Fataki | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carryover of alerts (17/05) | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ND | ND | 10 |
| New alerts (18/05) | 13 | 23 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 2 | ND | ND | 54 |
| Total alerts of the day (18/05) | 16 | 30 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 2 | ND | ND | 64 |
| Live alerts | 10 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2 | ND | ND | 45 |
| Deceased alerts | 6 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ND | ND | 19 |
| Investigated alerts | 16 | 22 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 2 | ND | ND | 54 |
| Uninvestigated alerts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | ND | ND | 9 |
| Validated alerts | 16 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 2 | ND | ND | 53 |
| Invalidated alerts | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ND | ND | 3 |
| Suspected cases sampled | 10 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ND | ND | 37 |
| Suspected cases isolated | 9 | 46 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | ND | ND | 69 |
| Suspected cases not isolated | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ND | ND | 2 |
III. RESPONSE ACTIONS
COORDINATION
• Holding of the coordination meeting with the sections. • Participation in strategic meetings at the governorate and central level • Holding of the coordination meeting with the sections. • Participation in strategic meetings at the governorate and provincial level • Sharing with the central level the priority activities with budget • Setting up and revitalisation of the intervention teams • Site exploration for the installation of CTE (Ebola treatment centre)
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SURVEILLANCE
• Briefing of surveillance teams on alerts, investigations, active case finding, contact listing and contact tracing; • Briefing to the PoE/PoC team on the mapping of their sites; • Organisation of the surveillance pillar (FP per ZS, roles and responsibilities); • Deployment of surveillance teams in 3 ZS in outbreak: Bunia, Rwampara and Nyankunde
LABORATORY
Results as of 18 May 2026 (RADIONE)
• Samples received: 27 (New suspected cases) • Samples analysed: 27 • Sampling samples analysed: 0 • Confirmed cases of the day: 18 (Rwampara: 6, Bunia: 8, Mongbwalu: 1, pending verification: 3) , 40 samples awaiting analysis at the Ituri Laboratory and 54 samples from Mongbwalu awaiting shipment to the Ituri lab. • Cumulative confirmed cases: 33 o Ituri Laboratory: 23 o INRB Kinshasa: 7 o Goma Laboratory: 1 o Butembo Laboratory: 2
RISK COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT (CREC)
• Sensitisation of 56 tuberculosis patients including 7 women in the health area of Mudzi-Maria; • Sensitisation of 26 CAC members including 12 women in the AS (health area) of Kasegwa to activate home visits in all avenues and villages; • Briefing of 23 PRESICODESA of the ZS of Bunia on CREC; • Capacity strengthening by the central level in writing the daily report for the pillar secretariat team.
INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL (PCI (infection prevention and control)/WASH)
ZS Bunia
• 3 standard diagnostic evaluations conducted and decontamination: HGR (general referral hospital) Bunia, CEM Nyankunde, CS. Les merites, • Start of briefing of teams of supervisors and decontaminators, • Evaluation of premises for setting up triage at the DPS Ituri office; • Briefing of technicians for the maintenance and disinfection of DPS meeting rooms, • Evaluation of fire prevention devices at the DPS and LPSP level (9 fire extinguishers for LPSP and 12 for the DPS) all to be maintained.
ZS Rwampara
• Start of the evaluation of CME Nyankunde, presence of 18 suspected patients but without isolation, among whom 8 healthcare providers, • Briefing of 68 providers on MVE • Clinical evaluation Dieu Guéri: scorecard of 28 % • Disinfection of several rooms of the internal medicine ward of the CME, Clinique Tumaini and one household. • Identification of a site for patient isolation
ZS Mongbwalu
• Briefing of 5 providers of HGR Mongbwalu, • Decontamination of isolation unit, • Provision of Wash kits in 4 CS by ACF.
LOGISTICS
• Identification of the vehicle fleet: • Ambulances: 4 (HGR Bunia, HGR Mongbwalu, PNC and UMIR); • Programmes and Coordinations: 3 (CPLT, MTN, PEV) • OMS: 5 vehicles for the surveillance pillar; • UNICEF: 6 rented vehicles including 1 for SBC;
SECURITY
• The security situation in the town of Bunia (ZS of Bunia and Rwampara) is relatively calm
IV. CHALLENGES
• Difficulty with mobility of teams for investigation at the DPS and ZS level • Difficulty with shipping samples from Mongbwalu to the provincial laboratory in Bunia • Shortage of sampling kits • Shortage of Protection Kits and surveillance tools
V. RECOMMENDATIONS
• Strengthen intervention teams in affected ZS, • Make means of transport (mobility) available to field teams, • Fill the GAP in sampling kits, • Continue contact listing and start contact tracing in all ZS, • Prepare the mapping of population mobility in affected health zones, • Strengthen epidemiological surveillance and community-based surveillance, • Train providers in epidemiological surveillance, community-based surveillance and laboratory
FOR ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
For the Institut National de la Santé Publique (INSP (National Institute of Public Health)) of the DRC
The Director-General of the INSP Dr MWAMBA KAZADI Dieudonné E-mail: dieudonnemwambakazadi@gmail.com Tel.: +243 816 040 145
The COU-SP Coordinator Prof NGANDU Christian E-mail: nganduchristian@ymail.com Tel.: +243998091915
For the World Health Organisation (OMS/RDC)
The Officer-in-Charge of OMS in DRC Dr Anne Marie ANCIA E-mail: anciaa @who.int
The EPR Cluster Team Lead of OMS in DRC Dr FOTSING Richard E-mail: fotsingri@who.int
For the health information management team Mr Henri MBIYA-NGANDU E-mail: mbiyanganduluboyah@who.int
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