![\"Red](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_300951344-253c.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe new Ebola outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain (Picture: Reuters)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tThe new Ebola outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain (Picture: Reuters)<\/p>\n
The \u2018first line of defence\u2019 against a deadly strain <\/a>of Ebola<\/a> has collapsed, Oxfam has said.<\/p>\n The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC<\/a>) is facing its largest ever outbreak<\/a> of the virus, with nearly 781 infected<\/a> and 181 dead.<\/p>\n But Oxfam has warned that the true toll is likely far higher as the country\u2019s contact tracing programme and water infrastructure are at breaking point. <\/p>\n Only one in five health<\/a> centres in the northeastern province of Ituri, the worst-affected region<\/a>, has access to enough clean water. <\/p>\n In Mongbwalo, a town of 140,000 people, only two in 10 have access to clean water, and a quarter have access to working hygiene facilities.<\/p>\n Manel Rebordosa, Oxfam\u2019s field response coordinator, said this is forcing families to use water contaminated with chemicals from local mines. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSign up for all of the latest stories\t\t\t<\/p>\n Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n \t\t \u2018Water \u2013 the absolute first line of defence\u00a0in any public health emergency \u2013 is simply not available,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n \u2018Miners working in the surrounding areas have no toilets and handwashing stations. Then\u00a0they\u00a0return home to communities already battling the virus.\u2019<\/p>\n Tibakanya Mireille, a mother of five in Ituri, said she is \u2018worried\u2019 her child has become infected with Ebola. <\/p>\n \u2018Here, two houses have been quarantined, and one family lost several relatives after caring for a sick relative, which caused others to be sick,\u2019 she said. <\/p>\n \u2018The disease has already killed several people in our community of Shari, in Bunia.\u2019<\/p>\n Why is this Ebola outbreak so concerning?<\/p>\n \t\t The strain of Ebola virus behind this outbreak,\u00a0known as Bundibugyo, is rare and has no vaccine or treatment.<\/p>\n The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed this is the largest Bundibugyo outbreak on record.<\/p>\n North Kivu province is even seeing Ebola cases being identified after the patient has died, unaware they had the illness. <\/p>\n Contact tracing \u2013 identifying the people an infected person has come into contact with \u2013 has just 43% coverage.<\/p>\n Oxfam fieldwork\u00a0found that there are just 0.2 doctors per 1,000 people, and some 70 health facilities have been destroyed by conflict.<\/p>\n The years-long violence that has torn the DRC has displaced millions, including people in Ituri, complicating contact tracing efforts. <\/p>\n @metrouk<\/a> <\/p>\n The World Health Organisation has officially declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo as an \u2018emergency of international concern\u2019. Officials have stressed that whilst this isn\u2019t a global pandemic like Covid, there\u2019s concern about regional spread after cases have crossed into Uganda. Ebola is spread through bodily fluids and this strain is the Bundibugyo virus, which currently has no approved vaccine or treatment. \ud83c\udfa5 @zofia_louise #worldnews<\/a> #ebola<\/a> #congo<\/a> #vaccine<\/a><\/p>\n \u266c original sound \u2013 Metro \u2013 Metro<\/a> <\/p>\n Aid workers have built isolation tents and disinfection stations near hospitals, only for locals to burn down the facilities <\/a>when officials refused to hand over the bodies of the dead over fears the infection could spread.<\/p>\n People can become infected with Ebola through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected, sick or dead person.<\/p>\n Many locals now see hospitals as \u2018death traps\u2019 and are turning to traditional health methods, which Rebordosa says is hampering containment.<\/p>\n As well as some people in DRC simply not knowing much about Ebola, Rebordosa\u00a0said the US has played a role in the Ebola outbreak.<\/p>\n \u2018One month into the 2018 outbreak, healthcare workers achieved contact tracing rates where nearly eight in 10 known contacts were successfully monitored,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n \u2018Today, following the withdrawal of US funding for disease surveillance and severe funding shortfalls, contact tracing is reaching fewer than half of the contacts.<\/p>\n \u2018That gap is not just a statistic; it is a painful reality that allows the virus to spread undetected through communities.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tWhat is Ebola?\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t Ebola is an illness caused by\u00a0a group of related viruses, known as orthoebolaviruses.<\/p>\n Infections come in two stages \u2013 a dry stage and a wet stage.<\/p>\n Dry symptoms, which include fever, aches, pains and fatigue, can progress to \u2018wet\u2019 ones such as diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding.<\/p>\n As the first round of symptoms, which show within 21 days, resemble the common cold or flu, many Ebola cases go undiagnosed. <\/p>\n The US withdrew from the World Health Organisation in January after closing the US Agency for International Development.<\/p>\n There is some hope: About 25 people have recovered from the virus, the African CDC \u2013 a continental health group \u2013 said\u00a0last Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ebola Outbreak Update | as of 10 June 2026 <\/p>\n Find the latest figures on the Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease reported in the DRC and Uganda.<\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n Situation Ebola | Au 10 juin 2026 <\/p>\n Retrouvez les derniers chiffres de l’\u00e9pid\u00e9mie de la maladie \u00e0 virus Ebola Bundibugyo en R\u00e9publique\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/OELa57wT8n<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Africa CDC (@AfricaCDC) June 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Dr Katherine O\u2019Reilly,\u00a0a medical director at International SOS \u2013 a leading health and security risk services company \u2013 told Metro that there is an \u2018experimental\u2019 Bundibugyo vaccine<\/a> in the works.<\/p>\n \u2018The vaccine is being developed in the UK by the Oxford Vaccine Group using the same technology used to develop the COVID vaccine,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n \u2018Researchers are developing Bundibugyo\u00a0Ebolavirus candidate vaccine, ChADOx1BDBV, looking at an accelerated schedule while adhering to established scientific, ethical and regulatory standards.\u2019<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow \t\t\tComments \t\t\t\tAdd as preferred source \t\t\t\tNews Updates<\/p>\n Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Red](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_300951319-bd71.jpg\")
\n\t\tChildren have died in the outbreak (Picture: Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"Charred](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_298370185-e46f.jpg\")
\n\t\tLocals, keen to bury the dead, have burnt hospitals down after health workers declined to release the body (Picture: AP Photo\/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonn)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_297633246-2da0.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe rare and deadly virus has emerged again in Uganda and Congo (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n
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