Updated May 23, 2026 / CBS/AFP
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said three volunteers from the DR Congo Red Cross have died after apparently contracting Ebola while on duty in Ituri province.
The volunteers — Alikana Udumusi Augustin, Sezabo Katanabo and Ajiko Chandiru Viviane — were members of the Mongbwalu branch in Djugu territory. The IFRC said they likely became infected on March 27 while handling dead bodies during a humanitarian mission that was unrelated to Ebola, at a time when the community and health authorities had not yet identified the outbreak.
According to the IFRC, one volunteer died on May 5 and the other two on May 15 and 16. The federation praised their service and said their deaths underscore the risks Red Cross volunteers face when working in complex, high‑risk environments.
The Geneva‑based organization, which represents more than 17 million volunteers across 191 countries, said it remains committed to supporting affected communities and strengthening the response to the outbreak.
The World Health Organization has declared the DR Congo outbreak an international public health emergency and on Friday raised the country’s risk level to very high. The regional risk remains high and the global risk low, the WHO said.
As of the WHO update, there were 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths in the DR Congo, along with nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths.
Health experts note the outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of ebolavirus, a rarer variant for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or animals and can cause severe bleeding and organ failure.
Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency physician and public health professor at Brown University who survived Ebola after aiding patients in Guinea in 2014, has expressed particular concern for healthcare and frontline workers because of their close contact with contagious patients, especially around the time of death.
The IFRC statement honored the volunteers’ courage and reiterated the organization’s work to protect vulnerable populations while responding to the evolving outbreak.