Lwiro Center Locks Down 200 Primates and 15 Staff After 223 Suspected Ebola Deaths
Updated
Updated · Mongabay.com · Jun 4
Lwiro Center Locks Down 200 Primates and 15 Staff After 223 Suspected Ebola Deaths
1 articles · Updated · Mongabay.com · Jun 4
Summary
More than 200 primates and 15 caregivers at the Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center in eastern DRC have been sealed off since May 23 after a nearby resident died of Ebola.
The sanctuary activated a protocol prepared since May 18: twice-daily health checks, mandatory handwashing, disinfected food and bedding deliveries, and a 10-day lockdown that can be extended.
Lwiro houses 129 chimpanzees and 108 monkeys, and managers say confinement is precautionary because Ebola has repeatedly passed from infected wild primates to humans, though no human-to-great-ape transmission has been recorded.
Four deaths tied to the first local case have been recorded around Lwiro, while the WHO had logged 223 suspected deaths in the wider outbreak by May 27, centered in Ituri province.
Emergency plans are also being rolled out across the Greater Virunga Landscape spanning DRC, Rwanda and Uganda, as conservation groups and MSF work to protect nearby communities and vulnerable ape populations.
Could this outbreak be the first to jump from humans to critically endangered mountain gorillas?
In a deadly Ebola outbreak, should saving endangered apes ever compete with saving human lives?
With no vaccine available, can this deadly new Ebola strain be contained before it spreads globally?
Ebola Bundibugyo Strain Sparks 2026 Regional Emergency: Human and Primate Lives at Risk in DRC and Uganda
Overview
The Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center began a precautionary lockdown on May 23, 2026, to protect its staff and vulnerable primates from the ongoing threat of Ebola virus transmission. This decision reflects the severe risks posed by infectious diseases, especially Ebola, which has historically devastated great ape populations and is a major reason western lowland gorillas are now critically endangered. The virus can infiltrate gorilla groups through spillover from other animals, making any outbreak a serious danger. The lockdown aims to prevent contact with external sources of infection, safeguarding both the animals and the people who care for them.