Butembo Hospital Burned After Confirmed Ebola Case

Butembo, August 19, 2026 - An Ebola treatment response site in North Kivu was burned after a confirmed case, destroying laboratory capacity and raising the risk of wider transmission in an already severe outbreak.

The Bora Maisha hospital in Mukalangirwa, Butembo, was attacked during the night of August 17-18 after a patient with confirmed Ebola had died. Staff and patients fled the facility, and contacts of the deceased patient, including caregivers, remained at large.

The Katwa health zone has recorded 255 confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola cases and 160 deaths. The attack followed earlier July assaults on the Crinovic and Zawadi health posts, underscoring persistent community resistance and security risks around response operations.

The destruction of laboratory assets and disruption of contact tracing threaten to prolong the outbreak in a strategic eastern commercial hub, adding pressure on public health logistics, humanitarian access and local economic activity.