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STORY GENEVA / EBOLA UPDATE
TRT: 04:52
SOURCE: UNTV CH / UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF FOOTAGE ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 MAY 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / 28 MAY 2026, ITURI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
FILE - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations, Flag Alley
29 MAY 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, Speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens; journalists in the press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Anaïs Legand, Technical Officer, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, World Health Organization (WHO):
“It's a disease that you get when you care for someone. When you care for your husband or your partner or your child or your mother. You get it when you want to help someone with symptoms. And this is terrible, because this disease, to avoid getting it, you have to ask communities not to touch someone they love when they are feeling sick. But this is critical.”
4. Med shot, speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Anaïs Legand, Technical Officer, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, World Health Organization (WHO):
“From previous outbreaks of Bundibugyo virus disease, the lethality, that is the number of people who died among people who were confirmed for the infection, ranges between 30 to 50 per cent. It's huge. It means like up to five out of 10 people are likely to die. So, having people who recover tells us two things: Five people are likely also to recover, and we can do more.”
6. Wide shot, journalists in the press room; speaker on screens
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Anaïs Legand, Technical Officer, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Community mobilization remains essential. Experience shows that outbreaks of this type can only be brought under control when communities are fully involved in the response. On a positive note, regarding the DRC: it is also worth mentioning that on May 27, a patient recovered, left the hospital, and was discharged back into the community.”
8. Med shot, speakers at the podium of the press conference
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Anaïs Legand, Technical Officer, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Several candidate products have been identified for clinical trials for treatment purposes. Three therapeutic candidates have been prioritized for clinical trials: the monoclonal antibodies MBP 134 and Maftivimab, as well as the antiviral Remdesivir. For prevention, the oral antiviral Obeldesivir has been prioritized for post-exposure use among contacts of confirmed cases, within the framework of clinical trials. Furthermore, two candidate vaccines have been identified for evaluation as soon as doses become available.”
10. Med shot, journalist in the press room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Anaïs Legand, Technical Officer, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Now we have this candidate therapeutics and vaccine, WHO is working closely with the Governments of both countries to support the assessment of these candidate medical countermeasures, while at the same time and urgently, scaling up care capacities to ensure all patients in those affected communities can access optimized supportive care that can help save lives.”
12. Wide shot, speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens; journalists in the press room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Anaïs Legand, Technical Officer, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, World Health Organization (WHO):
“This outbreak is happening in a very complex context. In Ituri alone, 1.2 million people require humanitarian assistance. Ongoing conflict and food insecurity are making the response more difficult.”
14. Med shot, journalists in the press room
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Anaïs Legand, Technical Officer, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, World Health Organization (WHO):
“The issue that we have in the field is not necessarily an issue of resources. It's an issue of access. You may have heard in the news that Bunia Airport has been closed. And we thank the Republic Democratic of the Congo to allow humanitarian flights to still continue to go in Bunia. But access is not fully functional. One day I got a call from my team telling me there is no fuel.”
UNICEF - 28 MAY 2026, ITURI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
16. Various shots, UNICEF’s first international shipment of Ebola response supplies arriving at Ituri, northeastern DRC
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
Early detection and community mobilization remain critical to saving lives, as potential treatments and vaccines are being still being assessed, WHO said today (29 May).
Since 15 May, UN agencies have been supporting both the DRC and neighbouring Uganda to contain the outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which spreads through close contact.
“It's a disease that you get when you care for someone, for your husband or your partner or your child or your mother,” Anaïs Legand, a WHO Technical Officer told reporters in Geneva.
“You get it when you want to help someone with symptoms, and this is terrible,” she said, explaining that families and friends have to be instructed not to touch loved ones who are falling sick.
Legand highlighted the critical importance of prevention and early access to care, in the face of this particularly deadly disease. Based on previous outbreaks the lethality “ranges between 30 and 50 per cent,” she said - “it’s huge.”
While “five out of 10 people are likely to die,” more can be done to promote recovery, according to the WHO expert. “We can scale up optimized intensive care,” she said. "We can support the communities to recognize the symptoms early to get early diagnostics, so that they can receive the level of care they need.”
Experience shows that Ebola flare-ups can only be controlled when communities are “fully involved” in the response, Legrand insisted -- highlighting a recent case in the DRC where a patient fully recovered and was discharged from the hospital.
WHO has gathered experts to review potential treatments and vaccines against the virus, with several products now identified for further assessment.
For confirmed cases, three candidate therapeutics for treatment have been prioritized for clinical trials, Legand revealed: the monoclonal antibodies MBP 134 and Maftivimab, and the antiviral Remdesivir.
For prevention, the oral antiviral Obeldesivir is being prioritized within a clinical study as a post-exposure measure for those who have been in contact with confirmed cases.
The WHO expert added that two candidate vaccines have been identified for evaluation once doses become available.
The agency is working closely with the governments of DRC and Uganda to support the assessment of these potential medical countermeasures, while at the same time “urgently scaling up care capacities to ensure all patients in affected communities can access optimized supportive care that can help save lives,” Legand said.
“This outbreak is happening in a very complex context,” she stressed, recalling that in the affected Ituri province alone, 1.2 million people require humanitarian assistance, while ongoing conflict and food insecurity are hampering the response.
“The issue that we have in the field is not necessarily an issue of resources,” Legand insisted. “It's an issue of access.”
The airport in Ituri province’s capital Bunia has been closed, and while the DRC Government has allowed humanitarian flights to proceed, operational constraints remain. “One day I got a call from my team telling me there is no fuel,” the WHO expert said.
Ahead of his arrival in DRC on Thursday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed to armed groups to declare a ceasefire so that health workers can reach people in need and halt spread of the disease.
The DRC notified WHO of an outbreak of Bundibugyo virus disease on 15 May and as of Thursday, 125 confirmed cases have been reported, including 17 deaths across Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. In addition, 906 suspected cases including over 223 deaths are under investigation and are being reviewed as testing capacity improves.
In Uganda, as of Thursday there were seven confirmed cases, including one death; three of them were imported from the DRC and others are linked contacts. WHO said that there is no evidence of community transmission in the country at this stage.
While indicating that people from the affected areas who may have been exposed to Ebola should not travel, the UN health agency does not recommend any restriction on travel or trade with the DRC or Uganda based on the current information.
