The health ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo said on May 31 that five Ebola patients in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province in the country’s east, have recovered.
Four of them were discharged from an Ebola treatment center in Bunia that day. All four are healthcare workers who tested negative for the Ebola virus twice before leaving. The other recovered patient, a lab worker, was discharged on May 29 after also getting two negative test results.
According to the World Health Organization, this is the first confirmed recovery case of Bundibugyo-type Ebola since the current outbreak began.
Bundibugyo is one of six known Ebola virus types. Compared to the deadliest Zaire strain, its death rate is a bit lower, but the symptoms are trickier: patients usually start with a fever, and bleeding shows up later, making it easy to misdiagnose early on.
As of now, the DRC has reported over 900 suspected cases and more than 260 confirmed cases, with 142 patients still receiving care in treatment centers. The outbreak has spread across Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces.
In early May, the WHO declared the Ebola outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” under the International Health Regulations. That’s the highest alert level in the WHO’s global health warning system, triggering coordinated actions like border controls and vaccine distribution across multiple countries.
Since the International Health Regulations took effect in 2005, the WHO has declared eight such emergencies. Previous ones that have ended include the H1N1 flu pandemic, the West Africa Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus epidemic, the DRC Ebola outbreak, the mpox outbreak, the polio outbreak, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is also the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since the virus was first identified there in 1976. The previous outbreak wrapped up in December 2025. That’s why the country is the most experienced in the world at dealing with Ebola—its surveillance system is way more sensitive than its neighbors’ systems.
Experts point out that the frequent Ebola outbreaks in the DRC are a result of a messy mix of environmental conditions, ongoing conflicts, and struggling healthcare systems.
The country’s National Institute for Biomedical Research confirmed that this outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain. The suspected first case is a nurse who died in April after visiting a health facility in Ituri province. The patient had symptoms like fever, bleeding, vomiting, and severe fatigue.
Ebola virus has a big family, and different outbreaks can be triggered by different strains—like Zaire or this time, Bundibugyo. That leaves healthcare workers often facing a tough situation with no specific drugs available for a new strain. Frequently sharing medical equipment that hasn’t been properly sterilized, or not taking enough precautions in labs, can easily spread the virus inside hospitals, making healthcare workers among the first victims.
“Huashan Infection” pointed out that existing vaccines and antibody treatments mainly target the Zaire strain. The “ring vaccination” strategy that has been built up over the past few years might not work directly this time, which is why the WHO is so concerned. Clinical care right now still relies mostly on isolation, fluids, and supportive treatment for symptoms.
The virus still spreads through close contact. Since fruit bats are its natural hosts, the virus usually jumps to people through contact with infected animals or with the blood, body fluids, or waste of sick people. Then it can cause big outbreaks in households or during traditional burial ceremonies.
Outbreaks tend to hit conflict-ridden, poor, and border areas where people move around a lot. The messy local political situation makes it hard to get public health work deep into communities. Late last year, security in Ituri and three other provinces got really bad, with very high risks and active fighting in some areas.
On May 27, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on all warring parties in the DRC to agree to an immediate ceasefire so that medical teams can safely and steadily get into the affected areas to stop this Ebola outbreak.
To speed up prevention efforts, local authorities have cut the time it takes to get Ebola test results to 48 hours. All pending samples have been tested, completely clearing the backlog and greatly speeding up case screening, isolation, and contact tracing.
DRC’s health minister said that outbreak monitoring, case tracking, and managing people in the incubation period are all going smoothly, with clear progress in prevention and control. Based on current progress, they expect to fully contain and end this Ebola outbreak within four to six months.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its embassy in the DRC have advised Chinese citizens to be cautious about traveling there recently and to avoid non-essential trips. Those already in the DRC or neighboring countries are urged not to go to Ebola-hit areas like Ituri and North Kivu provinces, and to stay away from wild animals and suspicious patients to lower infection risks.
China has built a multi-layer defense system against Ebola, from border checks to hospital warnings. Currently, the overall threat to the country is assessed as low risk. China’s Foreign Ministry said that as of now, no Chinese citizens have been reported as suspected cases.
On the evening of May 23, China’s CDC issued a “Ebola Virus Disease Prevention Notice,” saying that to manage related risks, people arriving from the DRC and Uganda should monitor their health for 21 days starting from the date they enter the country. If they develop symptoms like fever, fatigue, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, or unexplained bleeding, they should seek medical attention right away.
