Ebola outbreak could become &x27;the deadliest on record,&x27; IRC warns MORGAN WINSOR, DADA JOVANOVIC, DAVID BRENNAN and MARY KEKATOSTue, May 26, 2026 at 5:18 PM UTC 1 The New Yorkbased International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid organization warned on Tuesday that the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda is now spreading faster than responders can contain it and risks becoming "the deadliest on record" without urgent international action.
Ebola outbreak could become 'the deadliest on record,' IRC warns
MORGAN WINSOR, DADA JOVANOVIC, DAVID BRENNAN and MARY KEKATOSTue, May 26, 2026 at 5:18 PM UTC
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The New York-based International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid organization warned on Tuesday that the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda is now spreading faster than responders can contain it and risks becoming "the deadliest on record" without urgent international action.
What is especially alarming, the IRC said, is that the outbreak is no longer limited to remote areas of the DRC's northeastern province of Ituri, the epicenter of the current outbreak.
Cases and contacts are now spreading into larger regional hubs, the IRC warned, including the major city of Goma in the DRC's eastern province of North Kivu and also Uganda's capital, Kampala, with fears of much wider transmission.
Ebola outbreak in DRC, Uganda 'will get worse before it gets better': WHO chief
Additionally, many healthcare workers do not have access to personal protective equipment – such as coveralls, gloves and respirators – and have consequently fallen ill, according to the IRC.
"The outbreak is spreading faster than the response, with over 900 suspected cases and at least 223 deaths already reported across DRC and Uganda, including in major transport hubs like Goma and Kampala," the IRC wrote.
Glody Murhabazi/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Health workers carry the coffin at the cemetery for the burial of a person suspected of having died from Ebola in Bunia, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 25, 2026.
The IRC further said that standard Ebola tests "struggle" to detect the strain of Ebola responsible for this outbreak, the Bundibugyo strain, a rare variant which may have led to the virus spreading undetected for weeks or months
Case fatality rates for previous Bundibugyo outbreaks have ranged from 30% to 50%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Additionally, there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain compared to other strains responsible for past outbreaks, according to the organization.
"Every delay has a human cost. Eastern DRC's years of conflict and displacement have left health systems on their knees, and that makes containing this outbreak all the harder," Heather Kerr, IRC Democratic Republic of the Congo country director, said in the alert.
The IRC said conflict, mass displacement and deep international aid cuts have left health systems far weaker than during the massive 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in the eastern DRC, which the WHO said killed at least 2,299 people.
The last time the IRC issued a warning of this scale about Ebola was during the 2018-2020 outbreak, when the organization repeatedly warned that violence, mistrust and weak health systems could allow the virus to spiral into a regional catastrophe.
"The warning signs are flashing red," Bob Kitchen, vice president of emergencies for the IRC, said in Tuesday's alert. "Increased conflict and cuts to global aid funding have dismantled defenses at exactly the wrong moment. The lesson from every previous outbreak is clear: delays cost lives. The risks are growing and the resources are shrinking; that is the brutal arithmetic facing global aid today.”
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The IRC is calling for an emergency international funding surge, the appointment of a United Nations emergency coordinator, faster import approvals for medical supplies and equipment, stronger community outreach to rebuild trust, special protection for women and girls – who reportedly make up around two-thirds of suspected cases – and long-term investment in fragile health systems already damaged by war and insecurity.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record occurred between 2014 and 2016 in West Africa, with more than 28,600 cases reported. The WHO said that outbreak killed at least 11,325 people by June 2016.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a Monday briefing that the current Ebola outbreak "will get worse before it gets better."
"We are facing an extremely serious and difficult outbreak. It will get worse before it gets better," Tedros said on Monday. "But we know this virus, and we know how to stop it. We have stopped every previous Ebola outbreak, and we will stop this one, too."
Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters - PHOTO: Red Cross workers wearing personal protective equipment walk in a formation as they disinfect the ground outside the house of an unidentified man who died of Ebola in Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 24, 2026.
Ghebreyesus said he wanted to echo comments made by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about overcoming the outbreak with unity.
"The question is just how quickly we can do it, and how many more lives will be lost before we do," Ghebreyesus added.
Last week, Tedros classified the Ebola outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern -- one level below a pandemic in the United Nations agency's alert system.
The WHO continues to consider the national risk assessment as "very high" while the regional level risk remains "high" and the global risk level remains "low," Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
The outbreak has led to multiple countries, including the U.S., India, the U.K. and Australia, putting travel restrictions in place.
Why travel restrictions may have unintended consequences as US bars some visitors amid Ebola outbreak
Entry to the U.S. is restricted for foreign travelers who have recently been in the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan.
Meanwhile, U.S. passport holders and U.S. nationals returning to the U.S. from the three countries will be funneled to Dulles Airport in Virginia to be screened for symptoms and interviewed about possible exposure.
Enhanced screening efforts also began at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as of Saturday morning. Efforts at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston will begin late Tuesday.
Lawful permanent residents – green card holders – who have been in any of the three countries in question over the last 21 days are temporarily barred from entering the U.S.
ABC News' Eric M. Strauss contributed to this report.
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