WHO Director-General Tedros warns Ebola outbreak surges in Congo

WHO Warns Ebola Cases Surge in Congo

The World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that Ebola transmission is now declining in Congo's Ituri province but rising fast in North Kivu.

In North Kivu, weekly cases nearly doubled over the past two weeks, rising from about 100 to more than 200. Tedros described the vast area as many outbreaks in many places, warning that the epidemic continues to grow and kill.

More than 7,200 cases and more than 3,500 deaths have now been reported across seven provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the World Health Organization.

The outbreak is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record and is showing no signs of slowing down, Congo officials said. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's epidemic and pandemic management director, said officials can be cautiously optimistic but realistic about the road ahead.

Tedros said that in the most affected parts of Ituri province transmission is now going down while South Kivu has reported no new cases since May.

Vaccine Push Accelerates as Outbreak Spreads

Nicole Lurie, executive director at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, called this the most rapidly growing Ebola outbreak seen. She said it is probably on pace to be the worst ever seen and described the situation as quite terrifying.

Lurie said that other than Covid, which affected the whole world, this is the thing that has frightened her the most in her public health career.

She said she does not think the outbreak can be brought to an end without a vaccine, underscoring the urgent need. Shortly after the first Bundibugyo cases were reported in May, CEPI redirected $100 million of internal funding to develop a vaccine.

That funding helped scientists at the Serum Institute of India successfully manufacture doses of Oxford University's ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine at record speed for early safety trials.

That vaccine and Moderna's vaccine candidate have now entered safety trials, with efficacy trials expected to start in Congo this month. Teresa Lambe, a vaccinology professor and lead scientific investigator in the Oxford safety trials, warned that vaccine distrust remains a worry.

Violence and Aid Cuts Hinder Ebola Response

Millions of people have been displaced by ongoing violence in eastern Congo, making the contact tracing a struggle and isolating and treating cases very difficult, Nicole Lurie said.

While health officials ended Uganda's outbreak through contact tracing, isolation, and clinical care, deep distrust and widespread violence still continue to hinder the Democratic Republic of Congo's response.

Attackers have destroyed some medical equipment including ambulances and delayed safe burial teams, compounding the serious outbreak response challenges in Congo. Emily Hillard, press secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, said CDC teams are supporting surveillance and contact tracing.

Global responder organizations have now also been severely short of staff since the United States withdrew from the WHO and dismantled USAID under President Donald Trump's second term.

His administration's cuts to foreign aid have left responders now facing a critical shortage in basic medical equipment like masks, hand sanitizers, and testing gear in Congo.