WHO used a Member State information session on 22 May 2026 to brief governments on active Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks. The agency said the Congo Ebola outbreak now poses a very high national risk and noted imported cases to Uganda, while separately continuing coordination on hantavirus cases tied to an international maritime setting.
WHO used a Member State information session on 22 May 2026 to update governments on active outbreaks of Ebola and hantavirus, underscoring two separate response tracks in the same day.
In opening remarks published by WHO, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency had declared a public health emergency of international concern over the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO also said it had revised its Congo risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level and low at the global level.
The updated Ebola assessment comes as WHO said there have been two imported cases in Uganda. Reuters and AP separately reported on 22 May that WHO had raised the Congo risk assessment and that the outbreak was spreading rapidly.
WHO also held a separate EPI-WIN webinar on hantavirus on 22 May, focused on cases in an international maritime setting and on infection control and clinical management. The same-day briefing points to continued coordination with Member States and technical experts as WHO works through both outbreak responses.
The agency has not indicated, in the published remarks, any new funding pledge or operational announcement tied to the session. The immediate focus remains surveillance, risk assessment and response coordination for both outbreaks.
Revision note
Initial automated publication.