Six-Month-Old Girl Dies of Ebola at Congo Orphanage, Third Child Fatality

A six-month-old girl died from Ebola at an orphanage in eastern Congo and was buried Friday at Bigo Cemetery in Bunia. She was the third child fatality at the facility since the cluster began. Only health workers wearing protective gear handled the small coffin.

A Catholic priest led prayers at a distance. The outbreak is centered in Ituri province, which accounts for more than 90 percent of cases. Africa's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 38 percent rise in regional cases over the past week, with the total now spanning 32 health zones.

Additional cases have been confirmed in North Kivu, South Kivu, and across the border in Uganda. Uganda has recorded 19 confirmed cases and two deaths. Combined totals across both countries stand at 915 confirmed cases and 234 deaths.

The outbreak began when a newborn brought to the orphanage after the mother's death developed fever and died within days. A second infant, an orphaned triplet, died shortly afterward. Multiple caregivers at the facility, including a nun, have tested positive.

The Bundibugyo strain, first identified in 2007, has no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment. Early testing gaps allowed undetected spread before confirmation. Community resistance to safe-burial protocols and limited protective equipment for health workers have slowed the response.

Officials announced that all health centers in Ituri will provide free care and that worker bonuses will be doubled. "She was a baby. She had her whole life ahead of her. Unfortunately, she was taken by the disease, a disease that, as you know, is transmitted from one person to another," said Alex Lock, communications officer at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"It’s a feeling of sadness because we have lost one of our own, a daughter of the church. As we have always said, 'The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away,'" said Father Innocent Ndogo. Health officials continue contact tracing among 35,000 suspected potential contacts while urging residents to maintain vigilance against person-to-person transmission through bodily fluids.