The ​World Health Organization (WHO) said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resulted in 321 confirmed cases, along with 116 suspected cases, marking a large drop in the number of suspected cases as hundreds were ruled ‌out after investigation.

The agency said on Tuesday (June 2, 2026) there had been 48 deaths and six people have recovered in Congo. ‌The Congolese authorities first put out the new case numbers on ‌Monday (June 1, 2026).

WHO declares international emergency as Ebola outbreak kills more than 80 in DR Congo

In ⁠Uganda there have been nine confirmed cases and one associated ⁠death, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.

The WHO said on Friday (May 29, 2026) that there were 906 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic ​of Congo, including 223 suspected deaths ‌that were being investigated. Later Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an Financial Times (FT) op-ed published on Sunday (May 31, 2026) that more than 1,100 suspected cases were being investigated.

When asked ‌why the latest figures showed a significantly lower number of ​suspected cases, Mr. Lindmeier said the data suggested hundreds of cases had been discounted. “They have been cleared out and have ⁠either other diseases or have just had fever and nothing else,” Mr.  Lindmeier said, adding that the numbers would fluctuate over time as people get ‌tested. “A suspected case includes anyone who is picked up by surveillance or who presents with symptoms at a health centre,” he added. Confirmed cases include only those who have tested positive for Ebola Bundibugyo.

Testing has been a challenge in this outbreak as initially the more common tests used for Ebola did not detect the Bundibugyo strain, for which ‌there is no approved vaccine, and capacity has been limited.

The U.S. Centers for Disease ​Control and Prevention’s website also listed 116 suspected cases, and added: “On May 29, the DRC Ministry of Health updated their ⁠total suspect case count to remove suspected cases that have been ruled ⁠out after investigation and suspected deaths that are pending the results of ongoing investigation.”

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced ‌the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on May 15, and the WHO swiftly declared ​it a public health emergency of international concern.

Four nurses who were ​being treated for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus ⁠have been discharged from a hospital in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after recovering from the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday (May 31, 2026).

More recoveries are expected, especially when people are diagnosed ‌early and able to access care, and as the response to the outbreak intensifies. A laboratory worker had also recovered earlier this week, the agency said, ‌bringing the total number of people who have recovered from the virus to ‌five.

However, suspected cases are being looked into in Brazil and Italy tied ⁠to travel to affected nations. The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country has increased to 282, with 42 deaths, after 19 new positive test results were recorded, according to data distributed by the Communications Ministry.

Earlier this ​month the WHO declared the outbreak ‌caused by the rare Bundibugyo version of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, although it does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while on a Saturday (May 30, 2026) ‌visit to Bunia — the capital of the eastern Congolese province of Ituri — noted ​that although there currently is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus, “it is not without hope,” as it ⁠can be survived with good medical care.

Suspected cases outside Africa

The outbreak — the 17th in Congo and the third-largest since Ebola was discovered half a century ago — is outpacing the global response, ‌which got off to a late start. “The risk of regional spread is already happening,” Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said in an Financial Times (FT) op-ed published on Sunday (May 31, 2026).

It said that over 1,100 suspected cases are being investigated. In Brazil, a man with a suspected case of Ebola in Sao Paulo tested positive for meningitis. Another suspected case emerged in Rio de Janeiro, where the patient tested ‌positive for malaria, local health authorities said on Sunday (May 31, 2026). In neither case does the diagnosis rule out the ​possibility of Ebola, they said.

In the Sao Paulo case, a man from the Democratic Republic of Congo presented with a fever after recently visiting ⁠the African country, while in Rio the patient had recently traveled to Uganda. In Italy, protocols for ⁠a suspected case of Ebola were triggered in Sardinia’s capital Cagliari for a man who had flown back from Congo on Saturday (May 30, 2026) with some symptoms, but ‌the Health Ministry said early on Monday (June 1, 2026) that he had tested negative.

“We confirm that the risk (of Ebola) in Italy remains very low,” the Ministry said.

An Air France flight bound for Detroit was diverted to Montreal after a passenger from the Congo boarded a flight in Paris “in error” amid flight restrictions tied to the Ebola outbreak, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

A spokesperson for the agency on Thursday (May 21, 2026) said the passenger “should not have boarded” the plane on Wednesday (May 20) due to U.S. entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of Ebola spreading.

The spokesman said in an email officials “took decisive action and prohibited the flight carrying that traveller from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and instead, diverted to Montreal, Canada”.

Air France said the Congolese passenger was denied entry into the U.S. due to new regulations that travellers from certain countries, including the Congo, can enter only through Washington.

The Department of Homeland Security also said that as of Thursday (May 21), all U.S.-bound American citizens and permanent residents who have been in Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days must only enter through Washington Dulles International Airport for enhanced screening.

Craig Currie, spokesman for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said U.S. officials informed Canadian authorities that the plane was denied entry due to temporary travel restrictions for anyone who had travelled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the previous 21 days.

Mr. Currie said a public health official in Montreal assessed the traveller as asymptomatic. He said the traveller has flown back to Paris.

“Air France flight AFR378, along with all other passengers, continued to its original destination of Detroit,” Currie said in an email.

The World Health Organisation on Sunday (May 17) declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo virus, which is rarer than other viruses, and there is no available vaccine or treatment for it.