{"id":211149,"date":"2026-05-19T23:23:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ebola-deaths-rise-sharply-as-outbreaks-scale-and-speed-worry-who-chief-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T23:23:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:23:47","slug":"ebola-deaths-rise-sharply-as-outbreaks-scale-and-speed-worry-who-chief-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ebola-deaths-rise-sharply-as-outbreaks-scale-and-speed-worry-who-chief-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebola deaths rise sharply as outbreak\u2019s \u2018scale and speed\u2019 worry WHO chief – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

STEVE KORNACKI Q&A: NBC News\u2019 chief data analyst to answer questions from subscribers. Submit yours here.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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The death toll from an Ebola outbreak<\/a> in central Africa rose sharply Tuesday, with the head of the World Health Organization expressing concern over the \u201cscale and speed of the epidemic.\u201d<\/a>
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At least 131 people are believed to have died and 531 suspected to have been infected, according to the Congolese Health Ministry. An American missionary was among those who tested positive for the deadly disease<\/a>.
Global health experts are worried about the capacity of this outbreak to cause widespread illness and death in central Africa \u2014 not least because this rare strain of Ebola, the Bundibugyo virus, has no approved vaccine or treatment and a shortage of available tests.
The outbreak was also undetected for weeks, adding to the complexities in containing it. It has ripped through a region riven by civil war and conflict, while health officials said funding shortages were further hampering their ability to fight Ebola.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early Tuesday that he was \u201cdeeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic.\u201d
The State Department said that was \u201cstrongly\u201d urging Americans not to travel to Congo, South Sudan or Uganda \u201cfor any reason.\u201d
The State Department also said in a statement on Tuesday that the U.S. is going to fund up to 50 Ebola response clinics.
\u201cThe United States is committing to rapidly supporting the Ebola outbreak response by funding up to 50 treatment clinics, and associated frontline costs being established in Ebola-affected regions of the DRC and Uganda\u201d the State Department said.
\u201cThis U.S. funding commitment will accelerate the delivery of frontline medical care, life-saving humanitarian assistance, and critical outbreak response capabilities to communities at greatest risk,\u201d it added.
Most cases have been in towns at the heart of the region\u2019s gold-mining industry, which necessitates cross-border travel. But they have also been reported as far away as the rebel-held city of Goma, 230 miles from the outbreak\u2019s epicenter in the eastern Ituri province, as well as in neighboring Uganda.
The number of suspected cases has risen dramatically from the 300 believed infected and 88 killed as of Monday.
There have been only a couple of previous Bundibugyo outbreaks \u2014 one in Uganda in 2007 and one in Congo in 2012. The fatality rate during those incidents<\/a> ranged from 30% to 50%, according to the WHO.
The WHO\u2019s emergency committee is set to convene later Tuesday to discuss the outbreak.
The United Nations\u2019 health agency said \u200bsix tons of \u200csupplies were set to arrive in Congo on Tuesday, including \u2060personal protective equipment and \u200bother medical supplies.
President Donald Trump said that he too was \u201cconcerned\u201d about the situation, noting that the outbreak was so far confined to central Africa. Health experts say the likelihood of Ebola spreading in wealthy countries is very low because it spreads through bodily fluids rather than in the air.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory<\/a> for doctors about the outbreak, recommending that any patients who may have been exposed to the virus and have symptoms of Ebola be hospitalized in isolation and tested.
Among those infected is a U.S. citizen who has tested positive and been flown to Germany, Tedros told the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva.
Germany was doing so at the request of the U.S. government, a German Health Ministry spokesperson told NBC News. The country has \u201ca nationwide network of experts for the management and care of patients with diseases caused by highly pathogenic agents,\u201d the spokesperson said.
An American missionary named Dr. Peter Stafford has tested positive for the virus, according to the international missionary organization Serge. He was exposed while treating patients in Nyankunde Hospital in the northeastern corner of Congo, where he has worked since 2023, Serge said.
He got tested after presenting with symptoms of the virus, which includes fever, muscle fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting.
Two other physicians working in the region, including his wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and another man, Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, remain asymptomatic but were keeping to strict quarantine protocols, Serge said.
It was not clear from the missionary group\u2019s statement whether Stafford was the same American being airlifted to Germany.
Trump left the WHO in January, citing what he said was its poor management of the Covid pandemic.
Health officials and experts have said this, along with Trump\u2019s slashing of bodies such as the now-dismantled U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, could hamper the response to the current outbreak and others like it in the future.
Amid a global cost-of-living crisis, other Western governments have also cut their aid programs.
Anne Ancia, the WHO\u2019s representative in Congo, said Tuesday her organization had been working \u201cvery well\u201d with the U.S. government on the Ebola outbreak but that reductions in health funding have had a \u201ctremendous impact\u201d on its ability to counter the disease.
The State Department said it was \u201cfalse to claim that the USAID reform has negatively impacted our ability to respond to Ebola.\u201d
\u201cIn fact, by bringing USAID global health functions under the new GHSD bureau at the State Department, our efforts are more aligned and effective,\u201d a spokesman said, referring to the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy. \u201cFunding and support to combat Ebola continue, working with allies and partners, with additional announcements forthcoming.\u201d
Alexander Smith is a senior reporter for\u00a0NBC News Digital based in London.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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