Rwanda has sharply tightened controls along its frontier with the Democratic Republic of Congo as a deadly Ebola outbreak linked to the rare Bundibugyo strain advances through eastern Congo’s conflict zones.

Health officials report at least 131 deaths and more than 500 suspected infections in Ituri and surrounding provinces, a surge that prompted the World Health Organization to declare an international public health emergency. The Bundibugyo variant, first identified in Uganda and later in DR Congo, has no approved vaccine and has shown mortality rates of up to half of those infected.

At the busy crossings near Goma, a key commercial hub on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, Rwandan health workers in protective gear now screen every traveller. Temperatures are checked, symptoms logged and anyone showing signs of fever is diverted for further assessment. Authorities have also restricted non-essential cross-border movement, aiming to slow any potential spread into Rwandan territory.

The measures are reshaping daily life in Rubavu district, where thousands depend on small-scale cross-border trade. Local trader Nsengiyaremye Kigendi said the new rules have made it harder to move goods and earn a living, urging officials to balance public health with economic survival. Another trader, Twiringirimana Daniel, described how merchants now leave merchandise at the frontier for Congolese partners to collect, a workaround that cuts into already thin margins and increases the risk of loss or theft.

The outbreak’s epicentre, Mongbwalu in Ituri province, lies in territory controlled by the CODECO militia, one of several armed groups operating in eastern Congo. Persistent attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, and clashes between Congolese forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels further complicate access for medical teams.

A confirmed Ebola case in Goma, a strategic city under M23 control near the Rwandan border, has heightened anxiety in Kigali and across the region. The United States has raised its travel advisory for DR Congo, South Sudan and Uganda to its highest level and urged Americans to reconsider travel to Rwanda as a precaution.

Health experts warn that without secure access, sustained funding and cooperation among regional governments, the Bundibugyo outbreak could outpace containment efforts and spread along the same trade and displacement routes now being policed at Rwanda’s border.