{"id":8420,"date":"2026-05-21T14:01:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=8420"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:01:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:01:58","slug":"appeals-in-congo-for-urgent-supplies-as-aid-groups-warn-ebola-outbreak-is-gaining-momentum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=8420","title":{"rendered":"Appeals in Congo for urgent supplies as aid groups warn Ebola outbreak is \u2018gaining momentum\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JUSTIN KABUMBA, MONIKA PRONCZUK and GERALD IMRAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

BUNIA, Congo (AP) \u2014 Healthcare workers and aid groups in eastern Congo said Thursday they are in dire need of more supplies and staff to respond to a growing Ebola outbreak linked to a rare virus, as armed groups continue to threaten a region already grappling with a displacement and humanitarian crisis.<\/p>

Read more The differences \u2014 and similarities \u2014 in the Trump and Putin visits to China<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation is worrying because this is gaining momentum,\u201d Hama Amado, a field coordinator in the city of Bunia for the Alima aid group, told The Associated Press. \u201cThis is spreading in many areas. So everyone must mobilize.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWe are still far from saying that the situation is under control.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no available vaccine or medicine for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak, which spread undetected for weeks following the first known death while authorities tested for a more common Ebola virus.<\/p>\n

Healthcare workers and aid groups are struggling to respond as experts say the outbreak is much larger than what has been officially reported. Authorities have so far announced 139 suspected deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the M23 rebel group that controls parts of eastern Congo reported a confirmed case near the major city of Bukavu, some 310 miles south of the outbreak\u2019s epicenter in Ituri Pronvince. The person died, M23 said in a statement.<\/p>\n

As well as Ituri, other cases have been confirmed in North Kivu province and two in Uganda. But the announcement by M23 was the first confirmation of a case in South Kivu.<\/p>

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Health officials have not yet found \u201cpatient zero,\u201d according to the World Health Organization, which has said that the threat of a global spread of the outbreak is low.<\/p>\n

The outbreak in Congo has had wider repercussions.<\/p>\n

India and \u200bthe \u2060African Union said Thursday that the \u2060India-Africa \u2060Forum Summit, scheduled to be held next week in \u200cNew \u200bDelhi, had been postponed due to \u2060the \u201cevolving health situation in parts of Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Congo\u2019s soccer team canceled a three-day World Cup preparation training camp and a planned farewell to fans in the capital Kinshasa because of the Ebola outbreak.<\/p>

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  • \n
    \"Red<\/figure>\n
    Red Cross workers carry the body of a person who died of Ebola into a coffin at a health center in Rwampara, Congo, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo\/Moses Sawasawa)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li>
  • \n
    \"Emergency<\/figure>\n
    A convoy of emergency vehicles in Sch\u00f6nefeld, Germany, transports the family of a U.S. national who tested positive for Ebola in Congo, from the airport to where the patient is being examined in a special isolation ward of the Charite hospital in Berlin, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (Michael Ukas\/dpa via AP)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li>
  • \n
    \"A<\/figure>\n
    A U.S. doctor, who was in contact with people infected with Ebola in Uganda, arrives at a hospital in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo\/Petr David Josek)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/div><\/div><\/ul>
    Red Cross workers carry the body of a person who died of Ebola into a coffin at a health center in Rwampara, Congo, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo\/Moses Sawasawa)\n<\/div>Expand<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

    Early detection is key<\/h4>\n

    While almost 20 tons of aid has been airlifted to Bunia, the site of the first known death last month, doctors using out-of-date facemasks were tending to suspected Ebola patients in general wards because of the lack of isolation space.<\/p>\n

    Early detection of the virus is key in saving lives, but the region\u2019s already weak health infrastructure and surveillance capacity has been further weakened by international aid cuts, experts say. There are over 920,000 internally displaced people in Ituri, according to the U.N.<\/p>\n

    \u201cCommunities in eastern DRC are already facing immense pressure from conflict, displacement, and a collapsing health system,\u201d said Dr. Lievin Bangali, Senior Health Coordinator for the International Rescue Committee in DRC. \u201cYears of underfunding, compounded by recent cuts to front line health and outbreak preparedness programming, have weakened the ability to detect and respond to outbreaks quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The group said it had to stop its surveillance activities in three out of five areas in Ituri over the last year because of funding cuts.<\/p>\n