A man walks past the treatment center set up by the NGO Alima in the courtyard of Bunia General Referral Hospital following a resurgence of Ebola involving the Bundibugyo strain, a rarer variant of the virus with no approved vaccine currently available, in Bunia, Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo May 21, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

WHO Africa head warns against underestimating risk of Ebola spread

· The Straits Times

GENEVA, May 22 - It would be a mistake to underestimate the risk posed by the Ebola outbreak, the WHO regional director for Africa told Reuters on Friday, warning that just one case could spread the virus beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

“It would be a big mistake to underestimate it, especially with a virus with this strain Bundibugyo, (for) which we don't have the vaccine," Mohamed Yakub Janabi said in an interview at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

"So I would really encourage everyone, let's help each other, we can bring this thing into control," he said.

He added that the outbreak of Ebola in Congo has had relatively little global attention compared with this month's hantavirus outbreak, which affected cruise ship passengers from 23 countries including major powers. REUTERS