Photo: Shutterstock The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that a nurse was killed and another health worker was severely injured in an attack while responding to an Ebola alert in Bafwasende, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Tshopo province.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared the news on social media, expressing condolences to the deceased nurse’s family, colleagues and friends and wishing the injured worker a full recovery. The health worker remains hospitalized.
“Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety,” Tedros said, adding that healthcare must always be protected.
The WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, issed a similar statement:
"I am deeply saddened by the killing of a health worker in Bafwasende, Tshopo province, DRC. Another health worker was injured. Health is NOT a target. Those responding to the Ebola outbreak must be protected. Misinformation and fear must never fuel violence."
The Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus has been ongoing in the Congo since May 2026, with cases also reported in Kenya and Nigeria in October 2026.
Since May 2026, four Ebola cases linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been medically evacuated or detected in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA). Three patients were evacuated for specialist treatment, with two taken to Germany and one to the Netherlands. A fourth case was reported in France in July.
All four individuals were working in healthcare or humanitarian roles in Ebola-affected areas of the DRC. In July, a UK resident was also medically evacuated to the United Kingdom after potential exposure to the virus while treating Ebola patients in the DRC.