WHO confirms 101 Ebola cases, 10 deaths in DR Congo

Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), says 101 cases of Ebola, including 10 deaths, have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In a post on X on Monday, Ghebreyesus disclosed that there are now “more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths” linked to the outbreak, warning that “the epidemic in the DRC is much larger.”

He said ongoing violence and humanitarian challenges in the country are hampering efforts to contain the outbreak.

According to him, the national risk level in DR Congo has been raised to “very high” because of rapid transmission and the absence of approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.

Ghebreyesus said the WHO is finalising a multi-agency strategic preparedness and response plan in alignment with national response plans in DR Congo and Uganda.

He added that the organisation is expanding contact tracing, treatment centres, laboratory capacity, and community engagement as part of efforts to contain the outbreak.

The WHO director-general also disclosed that Uganda recorded two additional confirmed Ebola cases among healthcare workers, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases to seven, including one death.

Ghebreyesus said WHO and its partners would continue scaling up the response, noting that additional cases are likely to emerge in the coming days and weeks.

“The sooner we can trace people with infections and identify their contacts, the sooner we can provide the care they need and bring this outbreak under control,” he said.

Meanwhile, DR Congo’s Minister of Health, Roger Kamba, said insecurity and laboratory limitations complicated the country’s response during the early stage of the outbreak.

Speaking during a media briefing after a high-level ministerial cross-border coordination meeting in Kampala on Saturday, Kamba explained that the initial delay in response occurred because the laboratory in Bunia could not detect the Bundibugyo strain, making it necessary to send samples to Kinshasa for confirmation.

He added that the Congolese government is engaging diplomatic and mediation channels, alongside international partners, to facilitate access and coordination in areas controlled by the M23 armed group to ensure Ebola response operations continue across affected regions.