DRC Ebola cases reach 363 as Uganda reports four recoveries

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, first detected in mid-May across the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, has now infected 363 people in the DRC, leaving 62 dead. Uganda has recorded 15 cases of its own, though officials there reported four recoveries this week—a sign that containment measures are beginning to take hold even as the outbreak continues to spread.

The numbers emerged during an online briefing convened by the World Health Organisation's regional office for Africa on Thursday, bringing together senior health officials from the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan. The picture they painted was one of an outbreak that initially outpaced the response, but where momentum is now shifting. Mohamed Janabi, WHO's regional director for Africa, told the gathering that authorities were "catching up" and already seeing measurable progress. In the DRC, six patients have been treated and discharged. Uganda's four recoveries represent the country's first successful discharges since cases began appearing there.

Uganda's approach to containment has relied heavily on infrastructure built through previous Ebola encounters. The country's Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Diana Atwine explained that of the 15 confirmed cases, four were health workers who contracted the virus while treating the initial patient. All subsequent cases had already been isolated as identified contacts before they tested positive, allowing authorities to monitor them continuously. Uganda has tracked 620 contacts overall; 270 have completed the mandatory 21-day observation period and been cleared, while the remainder remain under surveillance. The country's laboratory system can now produce results within four hours, a critical advantage in a disease where early identification saves lives.

The DRC is taking a different approach, decentralizing its response to the health-zone level and expanding diagnostic capacity in areas closest to where cases are emerging. Health Minister Roger Kamba emphasized that more accurate testing is producing faster confirmations and enabling quicker response in affected communities. This expansion of testing infrastructure has itself contributed to the rising case count—not necessarily because the outbreak is accelerating, but because authorities are now catching cases they might have missed before.

Yet even as medical systems improve, officials warned that the outbreak is being complicated by forces beyond the laboratory. Janabi criticized the broad travel restrictions and border closures that several countries have imposed, arguing that such measures are counterproductive. Ebola is not airborne; blanket travel bans do not stop it. Instead, such restrictions can disrupt supply chains, weaken disease surveillance, and discourage governments from being transparent about cases. The better approach, he argued, is rigorous screening at official border crossings—a lesson underscored by the fact that Uganda's first case came from someone who crossed the border from the DRC seeking care at a closer health facility.

Janabi also raised an alarm about misinformation. Health authorities, he said, are effectively fighting two outbreaks at once: Ebola itself and the false information surrounding it. This dual battle is consuming resources and eroding public trust at a moment when cooperation and accurate information are essential. The regional nature of the outbreak—with cases appearing across multiple countries—makes coordination not merely helpful but essential. "Regional integration is not an option," Janabi said. "It is essential." Uganda's track record offers some reassurance: the country has never exported a confirmed Ebola case beyond its borders during previous outbreaks, a testament to the effectiveness of its containment protocols when they are properly resourced and deployed.