WHO warns DRC Ebola epidemic poses high risk of further spread

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Aug 18 that the Bundibugyo virus disease epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to pose a "high" risk of further spread both within the country and across international borders, as the outbreak has become the second-largest Ebola epidemic ever recorded.

Speaking at the opening of the second meeting of the emergency committee convened under the International Health Regulations (IHR), Tedros said nearly 5,000 people had been infected, and more than 2,300 had died across six provinces and 55 health zones since he declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern three months ago.

"The epidemic is far from being under control," Tedros told committee members, alongside representatives from the DRC, Uganda and France. "It had a big head start, and we are still playing catch-up," Xinhua News Agency reported.

Tedros described the speed of the outbreak as "unprecedented," saying it is spreading faster than any previous Ebola outbreak, driven by insecurity, displacement and intense population movement along roads, rivers and mining routes.

He said his greatest concern was that many deaths were occurring at home and in communities, outside treatment centres and among people not on known contact lists.

"Every death like that points to a chain of transmission we have not yet found. Until every chain is found and broken, the epidemic will continue," he said.

Uganda successfully halted transmission following an initial spillover, a response Tedros commended. However, the virus was recently detected in France in an international traveller, highlighting the risk of cross-border spread.

"Borders may slow a response; they do not stop a virus," Tedros said.

WHO, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the DRC government and partners are scaling up community-based surveillance, expanding treatment capacity, supporting safe burials and strengthening community engagement, while clinical trials are also advancing.

For the first time, two vaccines specifically designed against Bundibugyo virus have entered human trials, while a separate cross-protective vaccine is moving toward phase-three testing. The WHO-sponsored PARTNERS treatment trial has enrolled 100 patients.

Tedros said faster data sharing, stronger surveillance, sustained financing, improved access and security, and closer cross-border coordination remain urgently needed. He also warned against allowing the Ebola response to disrupt essential health services for other major threats, including malaria, cholera, pneumonia and maternal mortality.

The outbreak of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment, was declared by DRC authorities on May 15.

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