WHO says DRC Ebola outbreak is still spreading as response lags behind

The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is still spreading, with health teams struggling to keep pace. The agency said the virus began at least three months before it was officially declared, leaving authorities trying to catch up with transmission that was already under way. The epicentre remains in the east of the country, where insecurity has made control efforts harder.

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WHO Africa director Dr Mohamed Janabi said in Bunia that the virus was "ahead of us" and that health workers are reaching only about 30% of cases. He said research indicates the outbreak began in February and was initially misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid. The outbreak was declared on 15 May, and since then more than 1,900 people have died, according to the country's health ministry.

The outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or recognised therapeutic drug. That has made the response more difficult than in some previous outbreaks, especially in a region where access is already limited. The WHO said infection rates remain high, and many people are still dying at home before they can be reached by health teams.

The situation matters because Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids, making rapid diagnosis, isolation and safe burial practices central to containment. In eastern DR Congo, insecurity has complicated those measures, while suspicion of health authorities in some communities has also slowed the response. The WHO said traditional burial practices, including touching the body of the deceased, have added to the challenge.

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The outbreak has now reached 4,294 confirmed cases and 1,960 deaths, according to the health ministry. The WHO said there are now several dedicated treatment centres in the east of the country, and people are being diagnosed more quickly than before. Even so, the agency said the response is still behind the virus, and the scale of the outbreak has already made it the second-worst Ebola outbreak on record.

What happens next will depend on whether health teams can reach more cases, improve contact tracing and reduce deaths outside treatment centres. The WHO said insecurity remains a major obstacle, and it is not clear how quickly access will improve in the hardest-hit areas. Officials are also watching whether faster diagnosis and treatment can narrow the gap between the spread of the virus and the response.

The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo began in February, months before it was officially declared in mid-May. The agency says the outbreak is now accelerating, with confirmed cases reaching 4,200 and at least 1,900 deaths. Health officials say the spread has been faster than efforts to contain it.

Mohamed Janabi, the WHO regional director for Africa, said sequencing showed the outbreak started earlier than first thought. He said some early cases were wrongly attributed to malaria and typhoid, which delayed recognition of the disease. The outbreak was declared on 15 May, but the agency now says the virus had already been circulating for months.

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Janabi said the virus was effectively ahead of the response. The outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccines or treatments. That has made the response more difficult than in some previous Ebola outbreaks, where tools were available sooner.

The WHO said early testing focused on the more common type of Ebola, adding to delays in identifying the strain involved. The disease spreads through contact with bodily fluids and contaminated materials, and it can be severe and often fatal. The scale of the outbreak is significant because it has already caused more deaths than many earlier Ebola events at a faster pace.

The WHO said the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa, the worst on record, took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths. By contrast, the current outbreak in the DRC has already passed 1,900 deaths. That comparison underlines the pressure on health teams trying to respond in a setting with limited access and ongoing insecurity.

The response is taking place in difficult conditions in remote parts of the country. The WHO said some health workers have gone on strike because they are unpaid, while rebel threats, misinformation and anger in communities have complicated contact tracing and treatment efforts. Teams are also dealing with poor roads, shortages of protective equipment and displaced people who struggle to find reliable water for hygiene.

These conditions make it harder to isolate cases and slow transmission. The WHO has also said access to healthcare in the region has long been weakened by years of rebel conflict. Last week, the agency's director-general said Ebola was spreading faster than the response, with new cases doubling in some hotspots.

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