Israel’s health ministry reported on Sunday that a second person in recent days has been hospitalised with suspected Ebola virus disease after returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The patient arrived two days earlier and developed fever, headache, and diarrhoea, and has since been placed in isolation at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, according to official statements. A first suspected case, also linked to travel from DR Congo, was transferred to Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa late last week. Laboratory results are pending for both individuals; no confirmed Ebola case has yet been documented in Israel.

Viewbed from Kinshasa, the outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, for which no licensed vaccine or specific treatment currently exists. DR Congo’s health ministry reports 956 confirmed cases and 247 deaths as of 20 June, with the vast majority—874 cases and 201 deaths—concentrated in Ituri province. The health minister, Roger Kamba, said the outbreak is still in an expansion phase, with case-finding efforts intensifying. Contact tracing has reached only 69% of identified contacts, below the 95% target, while an estimated 35,000 people are considered potential contacts. In neighbouring Uganda, which closed its border with DR Congo, cases have also been confirmed, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warns of continuing cross-border risk.

Perspectives in the region underscore the fragility of the response. In the Kigonze camp for displaced people near Bunia in eastern DR Congo, at least 30 deaths with symptoms consistent with Ebola have been reported since early May, raising fears of undetected transmission in overcrowded settlements with poor sanitation. Aid workers say families are refusing post-mortem examinations, complicating surveillance. The World Health Organization assesses local response capacity at just 3 to 4 out of 10 of what is needed, and aid agencies face funding cuts that threaten water and hygiene services. Women and children are increasingly affected, as conflict-driven displacement exposes vulnerable groups to infection.

In Israel, the health ministry is conducting epidemiological investigations to identify contacts and examine possible links between the two suspect cases, while reiterating that Ebola is not airborne and transmission requires direct contact with symptomatic individuals or bodily fluids. The ministry has also issued travel advisories against non-essential visits to outbreak areas and maintains a preparedness plan including early detection mechanisms at points of entry, designated isolation facilities, and diagnostic capability. The next concrete step will be the release of laboratory findings on the two suspected cases, expected within days. Meanwhile, the Africa CDC and WHO are urging accelerated international support to contain an outbreak that, according to the International Rescue Committee, could become one of the deadliest on record if containment efforts do not outpace the virus’s spread.