The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began in February and was officially declared on May 15, with confirmed cases reaching 4,200 and deaths exceeding 1,900 according to government figures. The virus is the Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved vaccines or treatments, and early cases were misattributed to malaria or typhoid. WHO officials noted that genetic sequencing confirmed the February timeline and stated responders are chasing the virus.