Ebola Disease Is Spreading in the DRC. MSF Teams Are Responding Now.
MSF is responding in the DRC
An Ebola disease outbreak is rapidly escalating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As of 18 May the DRC had officially reported a total of 536 suspected cases and 134 suspected deaths. A case has also now been confirmed across the border in Uganda. Unlike most previous Ebola disease outbreaks that occurred in the DRC, this one is caused by Bundibugyo virus.
The World Health Organization has declared the disease outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”.
Medical teams from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) are mobilising urgently to help contain the spread, treat patients, and protect vulnerable communities before the situation worsens.
We Need Your Support Today
MSF teams are on the ground alongside local health authorities to identify the most urgent healthcare needs in affected communities.
MSF teams are preparing emergency medical interventions and deploying experienced doctors, nurses, logisticians and disease outbreak specialists to affected areas. We have also started dispatching essential supplies needed for this emergency intervention.
Our support includes:
🔴Protective medical equipment,
🔴Emergency treatment supplies,
🔴Infection prevention resources,
🔴and critical support for healthcare facilities already under pressure.
Every hour matters in an Ebola disease outbreak response. Without rapid intervention, the virus can spread quickly across communities and borders.
There Is No Approved Vaccine for This Strain
What our medical teams can do is manage patients' symptoms and provide care aimed at improving patients’ chances of survival.
The Ebola disease outbreak has been identified as the rarer Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which can kill up to 40% of those infected. While there is currently no approved vaccine, early treatment and strict infection prevention measures can save lives and help stop transmission.
Your donation can help MSF: provide lifesaving treatment, isolate and care for infected patients, support overwhelmed healthcare workers, trace and contain infections and prevent further spread across the region.
MSF Has Decades of Ebola Response Experience
MSF has worked in the DRC since 1977 and has responded to multiple Ebola disease outbreaks across Africa, including the devastating West Africa epidemic between 2014 and 2016.
Our teams are often among the first emergency responders on the ground because we are already present in many of the communities affected by crisis.
Today, that experience is urgently needed again.
