WHO Director-General arrives in Kinshasa as Ebola cases surge
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued repeated warnings about the rapid escalation of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), describing its spread as «unprecedented in pace». Since the epidemic began, health authorities have recorded 3,874 confirmed cases, including 1,751 deaths. This marks the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history, with the previous 2018-2020 crisis claiming nearly 2,300 lives out of 3,500 cases.
Direct talks with Congolese leadership underway
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, on Tuesday. A meeting with President Félix Tshisekedi was scheduled for Wednesday to discuss urgent measures to curb the epidemic. Earlier, in late May, Dr. Tedros visited Ituri province in northeastern DRC—the epicenter of the current outbreak—where nearly 90% of cases have been identified. The surge is driven by the Bundibugyo Ebola variant, for which no vaccine or treatment currently exists.
Health system strains under mounting pressure
«The outbreak continues to spread at a pace that outstrips our response capabilities,» warned a WHO spokesperson in Geneva. The organization is urgently calling for increased financial support and resources to bolster critical areas, including treatment capacities, field investigation teams, and safe burial protocols. Ebola, transmitted through bodily fluids, triggers severe hemorrhagic fever and has claimed over 15,000 lives in Africa over the past five decades.
The current epidemic has expanded across five provinces—Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, and Tshopo—in just two months. International efforts are intensifying to address the crisis, with Canada recently greenlighting clinical trials for a Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine developed by Moderna. The candidate, dubbed «rVSV Bundibugyo», is also slated for development by Hilleman Laboratories in Singapore and is considered by the WHO to be the «most promising» option.
Meanwhile, Oxford University (United Kingdom) has initiated early-stage trials for another Bundibugyo vaccine, leveraging the same technology as the AstraZeneca Covid-19 shot. Researchers are also accelerating tests on potential treatments, including antivirals like remdesivir and obeldesivir, as well as the monoclonal antibody MBP134.
The DRC declared its 17th Ebola epidemic on May 15, weeks after the first cases were detected. The vast nation, home to over 100 million people, continues to grapple with fragile state presence and under-resourced healthcare infrastructure in affected regions.
