Risk of Ebola global spread is low, but high at regional levels, WHO says

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks to the media (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

The head of the World Health Organisation has said the risk of spread of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is high at national and regional levels – but low at the global level.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said so far 51 cases have been confirmed in DR Congo in the northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, “although we know the scale of the epidemic is much larger”.

DRC #Ebola outbreak: @WHO is working closely with the authorities and rushing more testing kits to eastern DRC to identify cases of infection of Bundibugyo virus. https://t.co/X52gEKZaS0 pic.twitter.com/YKZxpcnv5q

— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) May 19, 2026

He said Uganda has also told the UN health agency of two confirmed cases in the capital, Kampala.

“Beyond the confirmed cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected,” he said.

“We expect those numbers to keep increasing.”