Geneva — The World Health Organization warned Monday that a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed 220 people suspected of infection, with more than 900 suspected cases recorded as the epidemic outpaces containment efforts.
So far, 101 cases and 10 deaths have been laboratory confirmed. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17. It has spread to Uganda, with five confirmed cases and one death there.
“There are now more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a virtual ministerial briefing. “We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment, the epidemic is outpacing us.”
No approved vaccines or therapeutics exist for the Bundibugyo virus, which has caused only two previous outbreaks — in Uganda in 2007 and the DRC in 2012. WHO has prioritized two monoclonal antibodies for urgent clinical trials.
The outbreak is hitting conflict-affected areas of Ituri and North Kivu provinces, where intense fighting has displaced over 100,000 people in recent months. Community distrust and recent security incidents at health facilities have further hampered response efforts.
WHO has raised the national risk level in the DRC to “very high,” kept regional risk at “high,” and global risk at “low.” Neighboring countries have been urged to strengthen surveillance.
Tedros said the situation will worsen before improving but expressed confidence that the virus can be stopped. He is scheduled to travel to the DRC this week with WHO’s emergencies director to lead the response.
