At least 118 people have died in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 390 suspected cases reported by local officials.
A government spokesperson said the virus is now spreading across a wider geographical area as new infections continue to emerge, reports BBC.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that Uganda has also reported two confirmed cases and one death linked to the outbreak.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the current outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus as a public health emergency of international concern. However, it clarified that the situation does not meet the definition of a pandemic.
Despite the growing concern, Congolese authorities have sought to reassure the public, saying response teams are actively tracing and investigating suspected infections and that there is no cause for panic.
However, fear is increasing as cases have now been identified in new locations, including Nyakunde in Ituri Province, Butembo in North Kivu, and the city of Goma.
An American doctor working in the DR Congo is among the confirmed cases. The medical missionary organisation involved, along with the CDC, confirmed the infection and said the individual would be transferred to Germany for treatment via medical evacuation.
While the CDC did not publicly name the doctor, the missionary group Serge said one of its US doctors, Peter Stafford, had tested positive for Ebola.
The group added that two other doctors who were exposed while treating patients including Stafford’s wife, Dr Rebekah Stafford—had shown no symptoms and were following quarantine procedures.
CBS News, citing sources, reported that at least six Americans had been exposed to the virus during the outbreak in the DR Congo.
The CDC said it was assisting in the “safe withdrawal of a small number of Americans who are directly affected”, but did not confirm the exact number involved.
US authorities are reportedly arranging transport for the affected group from the DRC to a secure quarantine facility. According to a source cited by the health news outlet STAT, they could be taken to a US military base in Germany, although this has not been confirmed.
During a press briefing on Sunday, the CDC declined to answer direct questions regarding the reported US citizens affected.
In a Monday update, the agency said the risk to the United States remained relatively low. However, it announced new preventive measures aimed at stopping the disease from entering the country.
These measures include monitoring travellers arriving from affected regions and imposing entry restrictions on non-US passport holders who have been in Uganda, DR Congo, or South Sudan within the past 21 days.
The CDC also said it would work with airlines and other partners to support contact tracing of passengers, expand testing capacity, and strengthen hospital preparedness.
The United States has issued a Level Four travel advisory its highest warning level urging citizens not to travel to the DR Congo.
The WHO has warned that the outbreak in eastern Ituri province could become significantly larger than current figures suggest, with a serious risk of further local and regional spread.
It noted that more than 28,600 people were infected during the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak, the largest Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified in 1976.
That epidemic spread across Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and beyond, including cases in the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy, and resulted in 11,325 deaths.
Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told the BBC that suspected cases have now reached nearly 400.
He urged strict public health compliance, especially around burial practices, warning that unsafe funerals could accelerate transmission.
“We don’t want people infected because of funerals,” he told the BBC World Service’s Newsday programme.
He added that traditional community funerals, where families handled and washed the bodies of the deceased, had significantly contributed to transmission in earlier outbreaks.
The WHO has urged both the DR Congo and Uganda where confirmed cases have been reported to carry out cross-border screening to reduce the risk of further spread.
Neighbouring countries are also stepping up precautions. Rwanda said it would strengthen screening at its border with the DR Congo as a preventive step, while Nigeria said it was closely monitoring developments.
