By Helen Regan, CNN
(CNN) — An international effort is underway to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda that has infected hundreds of people and caused dozens of suspected deaths, as the United States looks to relocate a “small number” of its citizens affected.
On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola epidemic a “public health emergency of international concern.” The latest outbreak does not yet meet the criteria of a “pandemic emergency,” but the WHO warned the high positivity rate and increasing number of cases and deaths across health zones point toward “a potentially much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and reported.”
The United Nations health body said there have been at least 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases reported as of Saturday in the DRC’s remote northeastern Ituri province. In neighboring Uganda, two laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, have so far been reported in the country’s capital Kampala, WHO reported.
The latest outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain, one of several viruses that can cause Ebola disease, WHO said. The WHO has called the outbreak “extraordinary” as there are currently no approved treatments or vaccines specific to the Bundibugyo virus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Sunday it was supporting interagency partners with efforts to relocate “a small number of Americans who are directly affected” by the outbreak. It comes after several Americans in the DRC were believed to have been exposed to the virus, including some deemed high risk, health news outlet STAT reported Sunday.
CNN could not independently verify the reports and has reached out to the CDC and the US Department of State for comment.
Dr. Satish Pillai, the CDC’s Ebola Response Incident Manager declined on Sunday to say whether any Americans were among those who had been infected. At a press briefing, he said the CDC was “actively assessing the situation on the ground and we aren’t going to comment on individual disposition.”
The CDC said it is deploying resources from the agency’s offices — who were already in the country — to help with efforts including surveillance, contact tracing and laboratory testing, and will mobilize additional support from the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta.
Pillai said the CDC was unaware of any exposure on international flights and noted that both countries have exit screening measures in place to prevent spread of the virus through travel.
International coordination is being ramped up to prevent the epidemic’s spread as experts warn of “extremely concerning” conditions.
About seven metric tons of emergency medical supplies, including protective equipment, tents and beds, arrived in the Ituri capital Bunia on Sunday to “help scale up frontline response efforts,” according to the WHO.
And non-governmental organizations like Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), are also preparing to launch large-scale responses as quickly as possible.
This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976, according to WHO.
The fatality rate involving the Bundibugyo strain is estimated to be between 25% and 40%, according to MSF.
Ebola symptoms include fever, muscle pain and rash. The virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids, including the handling of contaminated materials or someone who has died from the disease.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Ben Tinker, Nadia Kounang and Billy Stockwell contributed reporting.
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