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Red Cross Says Three Volunteers Died From Suspected Ebola in DR Congo
Three Red Cross volunteers died in May after contracting suspected Ebola while managing bodies in Ituri province on March 27. The outbreak has produced 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths in the DRC, with Uganda reporting five total cases.
May 23, 3:55 PM·1m read3 sources
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Three Red Cross volunteers died in the Democratic Republic of Congo after contracting suspected Ebola while managing bodies during a March 27 mission unrelated to the virus, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Saturday.
The volunteers, Alikana Udumusi Augustin, Sezabo Katanabo and Ajiko Chandiru Viviane, worked for the Mongbwalu branch in Ituri province. They died on May 5, 15 and 16 respectively.
The World Health Organization confirmed 82 cases and seven deaths in the DRC as of Friday, while the DRC Ministry of Communication and Media reported 204 suspected deaths. The WHO also listed roughly 750 suspected cases. Uganda confirmed three additional cases on Saturday, bringing its total to five.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention added Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia to its list of high-risk countries.
The DRC suspended commercial and private flights to and from Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, allowing only humanitarian, medical or emergency flights with special approval. Médecins Sans Frontières reported that a tent it supplied in Mongwalu was burned on Friday, one day after residents set part of a hospital ablaze elsewhere in Ituri when families were prevented from retrieving a body.
” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, wrote on X that early case identification, timely treatment and safe burials remain critical to controlling transmission. " — International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, May 24, 2026 (Euronews) The outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved vaccine and kills about one-third of those infected.
