The World Health Organization has issued urgent warnings this week about a rapidly escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), describing its spread as “unprecedented in pace.” Since the outbreak began, health authorities have recorded 3,874 confirmed cases, including 1,751 fatalities. This surge follows the country’s deadliest Ebola crisis, which claimed nearly 2,300 lives between 2018 and 2020 out of 3,500 reported cases.
WHO Director-General arrives in Kinshasa amid rising concerns
The head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, touched down in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, this week for high-level discussions with President Félix Tshisekedi. The visit comes as the current epidemic continues to outpace containment efforts in vulnerable regions.
Earlier this year, Tedros visited Ituri, a northeastern province and the epicenter of the outbreak, where nearly 90% of cases have been detected. The strain driving this crisis, Bundibugyo, remains untreatable and without an approved vaccine. The epidemic is raging in areas where state presence is weak and healthcare infrastructure is severely under-resourced.
Global health leaders call for urgent action
During a press briefing in Geneva, a WHO spokesperson emphasized the “alarming acceleration” of the outbreak, noting that response capacity is being overwhelmed. The organization has urgently requested increased financial support and resources to bolster treatment facilities, field investigation teams, and safe burial operations.
Ebola, transmitted through bodily fluids, triggers severe hemorrhagic fever and has claimed over 15,000 lives across Africa over the past five decades. The current outbreak has now spread across five provinces—Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, and Tshopo—over the past two months alone.
Vaccine and treatment research gains momentum
This week, Canadian authorities approved clinical trials for a potential vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain, developed by U.S.-based Moderna. The WHO has labeled the experimental rVSV Bundibugyo vaccine as the most promising candidate to date, with additional development led by Hilleman Laboratories in Singapore.
In late July, a volunteer in the United Kingdom received the first dose of another investigational vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford using the same platform as the AstraZeneca Covid-19 shot. Researchers are also accelerating trials for treatments, including the antivirals remdesivir and obeldesivir, as well as the monoclonal antibody MBP134.
The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15, weeks after the first cases were detected in a country of over 100 million people.
