The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on course to become the deadliest outbreak of the disease ever recorded, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the 2026 outbreak could surpass the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic, which killed at least 11,000 people, if transmission continues at its current rate.
Tedros said the outbreak had already recorded at least 4,300 cases and more than 2,000 deaths since it was officially declared on May 15.
The WHO said on Wednesday that it hoped to bring transmission under control within three months, while stressing that achieving that target would not necessarily mean the outbreak had ended.
Health officials said the outbreak may have started several months before it was officially declared, raising concerns that the virus had already spread significantly before authorities identified it.
WHO Africa Director Mohamed Janabi said the virus was initially misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid after beginning to spread in February.
“We are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us,” Janabi said at a news conference in Bunia, near the centre of the outbreak.
The outbreak is being caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has previously been responsible for only two known outbreaks, in 2007 and 2012.
Unlike some other Ebola strains, there is currently no approved vaccine or recognised therapeutic drug specifically available to treat Bundibugyo Ebola.
Efforts to contain the outbreak have also been complicated by instability in eastern DR Congo, where access to affected communities remains difficult.
Janabi said health workers were currently reaching only about 30 per cent of cases, limiting efforts to identify infections, trace contacts and prevent further transmission.
Ebola is a rare but potentially fatal viral disease. Symptoms can emerge between two and 21 days after infection and may initially resemble illnesses such as malaria or influenza.
Common early symptoms include fever, headache and tiredness, while severe cases can develop vomiting and diarrhoea that may lead to organ failure.
The virus spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, including blood and vomit.
Meanwhile, efforts to develop a vaccine specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain have advanced, with the UK medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), approving the first human trials.
The vaccine is being developed by researchers at the University of Oxford using technology based on the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Three other research groups are also developing candidate vaccines against Bundibugyo Ebola, although their vaccines have yet to enter clinical trials.
The WHO is separately sponsoring a clinical trial in DR Congo to assess whether two existing antiviral therapies can improve survival among patients infected with the virus.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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