GENEVA / RankWire.AI / – The World Health Organization has urged a significant scale-up in the Ebola containment efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, health teams continue to miss some links in the transmission chain. As of Sept. 1, the government reported 6,250 confirmed cases and 3,039 fatalities in Congo. The ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak now impacts 60 health zones across six provinces.
This outbreak has become Congo’s most extensive and deadliest Ebola epidemic to date. Globally, it ranks as the second-largest Ebola outbreak after the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa. Ituri remains the epicenter of the crisis, representing about 85% of cases and 88% of deaths. Tedros emphasized that many fatalities involve individuals not listed as known contacts, indicating that transmission chains are still being overlooked by health teams.
Community deaths and unsafe burials continue to pose significant challenges in controlling the outbreak. The Africa CDC reports that over 60% of deaths in the latest seven-day period occurred within communities. Delays in infection detection and patient admissions to treatment centers have also been documented by health officials. The recent government data shows 1,439 recoveries and a case fatality rate of 48.6%, underlining the severe impact of the Bundibugyo virus.
Transmission remains active throughout eastern Congo
Even as recent weeks have shown some signs of decline, transmission persists in 51 health zones. Authorities have noted that four zones have reported no new cases for more than 42 days and have successfully interrupted transmission. An additional five zones have experienced a period of between 21 and 42 days without new cases. Health officials warn that the decline is too recent to confirm that the Ebola outbreak nationwide is under control.
The WHO has intensified testing, treatment, and field operations across affected regions. Over 330 tonnes of emergency supplies have been dispatched, and more than 300 experts deployed. Laboratory capacity has increased from a single national reference lab to a network of 24 laboratories closer to the affected populations. Testing now exceeds 3,000 tests daily, while treatment and isolation beds have expanded to over 1,300 across 49 facilities.
Response efforts continue as the outbreak endures
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which currently lacks an approved specific treatment or vaccine. Researchers are actively conducting therapeutic trials, while vaccine candidates for Bundibugyo are under safety evaluations. Ongoing surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, clinical care, and safe burial operations remain critical. Community engagement is also vital because delayed detection and incomplete contact follow-up hinder efforts to identify infected individuals before further transmission occurs.
Congo announced the outbreak in Ituri province on May 15 following confirmation of infections linked to the Bundibugyo virus. The disease has since spread to North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo, and Bas-Uélé provinces. Tedros stated that the response must expand until health teams can identify and break every transmission chain. Authorities continue to prioritize rapid detection, contact follow-up, safe burials, laboratory diagnosis, and access to treatment within affected communities.