WHO warns DRC Ebola outbreak spreading at ‘unprecedented speed’

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the Ebola epidemic caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is spreading at an “unprecedented speed”, with nearly 5,000 people infected and more than 2,300 deaths recorded across six provinces.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the warning on Tuesday at the second meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on the outbreak, three months after declaring the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern.

Tedros said the outbreak had become the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded and was moving faster than any previous Ebola epidemic.

“We must be frank: the epidemic is far from being under control,” he said, adding that the outbreak had “a big head start” and responders were “still playing catch-up”.

The latest figures cited by the WHO chief put the toll at almost 5,000 infections and more than 2,300 deaths, with transmission spanning six provinces and 55 health zones.

The scale of the outbreak has already surpassed the previous deadliest Ebola epidemic in the DRC, which killed 2,299 people between 2018 and 2020. Current official figures stand at 4,945 confirmed infections and 2,325 deaths as of 16 August.

Tedros said the greatest concern was that many people were dying outside the formal health system — at home and in their communities, outside treatment centres and outside 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.

According to Tedros, the pattern is particularly dangerous because people who have not been identified as contacts can continue to move between communities while infectious.

WHO has previously reported that a large proportion of new cases are being identified outside monitored contacts, making traditional contact tracing increasingly difficult.

He said the epidemic was being driven by a combination of insecurity, population displacement and intense population movement along roads, rivers and mining routes.

Much of the outbreak is concentrated in eastern DRC, where armed conflict and weak infrastructure have made access to affected communities increasingly difficult.

Tedros said the international risk had also become clear, with the virus already reaching Europe and demonstrating the limitations of border controls in stopping infectious diseases.

“Borders may slow a response; they do not stop a virus,” he said.

Amid the worsening outbreak, Tedros said two Bundibugyo-specific vaccines were now being tested in humans, while another vaccine had demonstrated cross-protection in animal studies and was being advanced towards a Phase III trial.

According to him, the Oxford Vaccine Group launched the first Phase I clinical trial of a Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine in July, while vaccine manufacturers have been preparing doses for potential use as research and response needs grow.

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He said the research effort was taking place against the backdrop of a rapidly worsening epidemic, increasing pressure on scientists and regulators to generate reliable evidence as quickly as possible.

Tedros, however, said the DRC government, WHO, Africa CDC and other partners were scaling up operations to contain the outbreak.

The measures include strengthening community-based surveillance, expanding treatment capacity, supporting safe and dignified burials, increasing cross-border coordination, and deepening community engagement and trust-building.

He stressed, however, that the response still required faster data sharing, enhanced surveillance, sustained financing, improved access and security, and stronger cross-border coordination to prevent the epidemic from spreading further.