Congo and Uganda report 263 confirmed Ebola cases with 43 deaths, Africa CDC says

FILE PHOTO: Health workers walk at the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM), one of the facilities at the forefront of the response to the Ebola outbreak, as agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain, in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

May 31 (Reuters) - As ⁠of May 30, 263 confirmed Ebola cases have ⁠been reported in the Democratic Republic of ‌Congo and Uganda, the director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Jean Kaseya said.

More than 1,100 suspected ​cases are being investigated and 43 ⁠people are confirmed to ⁠have died as a result of the rare Bundibugyo ⁠strain ‌of Ebola, Kaseya said in an FT op-ed published on Sunday.

Here are a ⁠few other details:

• Kesaya said national incident ​systems must be ‌activated rapidly, and investments in pandemic preparedness ⁠must become ​permanent

• International partners play an essential role, but their support matters most when it aligns with strategies that ⁠are built by African institutions and ​African governments, he said

• The Ebola outbreak - the 17th in Democratic Republic of Congo and the third-largest ⁠since Ebola was discovered half a century ago - is outpacing the global response

• Health officials and aid workers say they lack even basic supplies such ​as masks after the outbreak spread ⁠was undetected for weeks

• The World Health Organization ​has declared the outbreak in ‌the DRC and Uganda a ​public health emergency of international concern

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis)