WHO Africa head warns against underestimating risk of Ebola spread

A man walks past the treatment center set up by the NGO Alima in the courtyard of Bunia General Referral Hospital following a resurgence of Ebola involving the Bundibugyo strain, a rarer variant of the virus with no approved vaccine currently available, in Bunia, Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo May 21, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

GENEVA, May ⁠22 (Reuters) - It would be a ⁠mistake to underestimate the risk posed ‌by the Ebola outbreak, the WHO regional director for Africa told Reuters on ​Friday, warning that just ⁠one case could ⁠spread the virus beyond the Democratic Republic ⁠of ‌Congo and Uganda.

“It would be a big mistake ⁠to underestimate it, especially with a ​virus ‌with this strain Bundibugyo, (for) which we ⁠don't ​have the vaccine," Mohamed Yakub Janabi said in an interview at WHO ⁠headquarters in Geneva.

"So I ​would really encourage everyone, let's help each other, we can bring this ⁠thing into control," he said.

He added that the outbreak of Ebola in Congo has had relatively little ​global attention compared ⁠with this month's hantavirus outbreak, which ​affected cruise ship ‌passengers from 23 countries ​including major powers.

(Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Friederike Heine)