GENEVA / RankWire.AI / – As of September 1, the World Health Organization has urged a significant scaling up of the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, health teams continue to struggle with tracing every transmission pathway. The latest government data reports 6,250 confirmed cases and 3,039 deaths nationwide. The ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak now spans 60 health zones across six provinces.
This outbreak is now the most extensive and deadliest in Congo’s history, ranking as the second-largest Ebola epidemic worldwide, following the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak. Ituri remains at the heart of the crisis, representing approximately 85% of cases and 88% of fatalities. Tedros highlighted that numerous deaths involve individuals not listed as known contacts, indicating that health teams are still missing key transmission chains.
Community deaths and unsafe burials continue to pose significant challenges to controlling the epidemic. Africa CDC reports that over 60% of deaths in the past week occurred in communities. Additionally, health officials have identified delays in detecting infections and in transporting patients to treatment centers. The government’s latest figures show 1,439 recoveries with a case fatality rate of 48.6%, underscoring the severe impact of the Bundibugyo strain.
Active Transmission Continues in Eastern Congo
Despite some recent signs of decline, transmission persists in 51 health zones. Four zones have not reported new cases for more than 42 days and have successfully interrupted transmission. A further five zones have gone between 21 and 42 days without new cases. Health officials warn that these declines are too recent to confirm that the outbreak is under control nationwide.
In response, the WHO has enhanced testing, treatment, and field operations throughout affected regions. Over 330 tonnes of emergency supplies have been delivered, and more than 300 experts have been deployed. Laboratory capacity has expanded from one national reference lab to a network of 24 laboratories located closer to affected populations. Daily testing capabilities now reach approximately 3,000 tests, with treatment and isolation beds increasing to over 1,300 across 49 facilities.
Response Efforts Grow as Outbreak Continues
The current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has no approved specific treatment or vaccine at this time. Researchers are engaged in therapeutic trials, and vaccine candidates targeting the Bundibugyo virus are undergoing safety assessments. Health authorities maintain ongoing surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, clinical management, and safe burial activities. Community engagement remains a critical component, as delayed detection and incomplete contact follow-up hinder efforts to identify infected individuals before further transmission occurs.
Congo officially declared the outbreak in Ituri province on May 15 after confirming infections linked to the Bundibugyo virus. The epidemic has since spread to North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo, and Bas-Uélé provinces. Tedros emphasized that the response must be expanded until every transmission chain can be identified and broken. Authorities continue prioritizing rapid detection, follow-up of contacts, safe burials, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment access across all affected communities.