WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on outbreaks of Ebola and hantavirus – 22 May 2026

Good afternoon to everyone in the room, and good morning, good afternoon and good evening to those joining us online.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading rapidly.

Previously, WHO assessed the risk as high at the national and regional levels and low at the global level.

We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level.

So far, 82 cases have been confirmed in DRC, with seven confirmed deaths.

But we know the epidemic in DRC is much larger. There are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths.

The situation in Uganda is stable, with two cases confirmed in people who travelled from DRC, with one death.

The measures taken in Uganda, including intense contact tracing and cancelling the Martyrs' Day commemoration, appear to have been effective in preventing the further spread of the virus.

An American national who was working in DRC has also been confirmed positive, and transferred to Germany for care.

We are also aware of reports today about another American national who is a high-risk contact who has been transferred to the Czech Republic.

The governments of DRC and Uganda are leading the response, with support from WHO and partners.

In addition to our national staff in DRC, so far we have deployed 22 international staff to the field, including some of our most experienced people;

And we have released US$ 3.9 million from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies.

We're also in touch with UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, and I thank him for allocating US$ 60 million to the response.

On the ground, we're supporting national authorities with every pillar of the response, including contact tracing, establishing treatment centres, risk communication and community engagement, and more.

Together with the Africa CDC, WHO is also establishing a continental Incident Management Support Team.

In the coming days we will publish a multi-agency Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan - SPRP - aligned with the national plans of both DRC and Uganda, and with our partners.

As you know, unlike many previous Ebola outbreaks, which were caused by Zaire virus, this outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics.

There have only been two previous outbreaks of Bundibugyo, in Uganda in 2007 and DRC in 2012.

Yesterday, WHO convened the leaders of several partner organizations under the interim Medical Countermeasures Network, to review the pipeline of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

The WHO R&D Blueprint has also convened its technical advisory group on therapeutics and recommended to prioritize two monoclonal antibodies to advance in clinical trials.

In addition, the advisory group recommended the evaluation of the antiviral obeldesivir in a clinical trial as post-exposure prophylaxis for people who are high-risk contacts.

This clinical trial is now being developed jointly with Africa CDC and the Collaborative Open Research Consortium on filovuruses.

We are also discussing with partners candidate vaccines in the development and manufacturing pipeline.

As you know, the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu in which the outbreak is occurring are highly insecure, with intensified fighting in recent months, causing more than 100 000 people to be newly displaced.

Across both provinces, around 4 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance, 2 million are displaced, and 10 million face acute hunger.

There is also significant distrust of outside authorities among the local population.

Just yesterday, there was a security incident at a hospital in Ituri, where tents and medical supplies were set on fire.

Building trust in the affected communities is critical to a successful response, and is one of our highest priorities.

We are also committed to ensuring that essential health services for the affected communities are maintained and strengthened, based on their needs.

===

Now a brief update on the hantavirus outbreak among passengers and crew on board the cruise ship MV Hondius.

Today, the Netherlands confirmed an additional case among a crew member who disembarked in Tenerife, was repatriated to the Netherlands and has been isolating since then.

There are now 12 reported cases and 3 reported deaths.

No deaths have been reported since the 2^nd of May, when the outbreak was first reported to WHO.

We continue to urge affected countries to monitor all passengers and crew carefully for the remainder of the quarantine period.

More than 600 contacts continue to be followed in 30 countries, and a small number of high-risk contacts are still being located.

Once again, I thank the many countries that have cooperated in the response, and the epidemiological investigation: Argentina, Cabo Verde, Chile, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Christian, back to you.