The World Health Organization warned on Monday that the fast-moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, with 220 suspected deaths reported so far.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said delayed detection of Ebola cases had forced responders to “play catch-up”, warning that the situation was expected to worsen before improving.
Addressing an African Union meeting, Tedros said more than 900 suspected Ebola cases had been identified, including 101 confirmed infections.
The WHO has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola a public health emergency of international concern, citing the absence of an approved vaccine or virus-specific treatment.
Infections continue to spread across eastern Congo and into neighbouring Uganda, which has now confirmed seven Ebola cases after reporting two new infections on Monday.
Tedros warned that countries bordering the DRC remained at high risk and urged immediate preparedness measures.
He said containing the fast-moving outbreak was complicated by insecurity in Congo’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces, as well as the lack of approved vaccines for the Bundibugyo virus.
Tedros said he would travel to Congo - the epicentre of the outbreak - on Tuesday alongside Chikwe Ihekweazu, the WHO official responsible for health emergencies in Africa.
Authorities in Ituri province, one of the worst-affected areas, introduced strict emergency measures after clashes erupted in Rwampara, where residents attempted to recover the body of an Ebola victim for a traditional funeral wake.
Officials banned funeral wakes, limited public gatherings to 50 people, suspended the local football league, and ordered that burials be conducted only by specialised medical teams.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, while the bodies of victims remain highly infectious after death. Health officials said unsafe funeral practices had significantly contributed to the spread of the current outbreak.
“The virus spreads very easily during funeral practices,” said Laura Archer of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The outbreak’s first known patient died in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, on 24 April. Authorities said the virus spread further after mourners handled the victim’s body during a funeral in Mongbwalu.
Doctors and aid workers operating in eastern Congo are also facing violence, supply shortages and growing public distrust.
At least three attacks on health facilities have been reported in Ituri province, including two incidents over the weekend targeting the same hospital and allowing more than two dozen patients to flee.
The violence has revived memories of the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, during which more than 25 health workers were killed in attacks on treatment centres.
Medical officials said misinformation and denial about Ebola remained widespread among local communities.
“There is denial of the disease within the population,” said Dr Richard Lokodu, director of Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital.
Aid organisations have intensified door-to-door awareness campaigns to combat false information surrounding the outbreak.
“There’s a lot of misinformation on the ground, so that’s another epidemic by itself,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Yakub Janabi said.
Uganda’s health ministry said some of its latest Ebola infections involved close contacts of the country’s first confirmed case, including a healthcare worker and a driver involved in patient transport.
Authorities in Rwanda also introduced new border restrictions, saying foreign nationals who had recently travelled through the DRC would be denied entry, while returning residents would face quarantine measures.
The WHO has urged countries to avoid broad border closures, warning that restrictions could encourage informal crossings and complicate humanitarian access.
The outbreak is unfolding amid ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, where armed groups continue to operate across affected regions.
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group controls parts of North Kivu province, including areas where Ebola cases have been detected. Authorities in rebel-controlled territory have already suspended transport links between several affected cities.
United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher announced around $60 million in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
“We need to get ahead of this Ebola outbreak,” Fletcher wrote on X.
A drone hit a petrol station in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv early on Tuesday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the...
U.S. President Donald Trump has again said Iran is keen to reach a deal quickly, but a senior Iranian security official rejected the claim, saying ...
Hundreds of thousands of deep-diving turtles, known as olive ridley sea turtles, have arrived on Mexico’s southern coast for one of nature&rs...
Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), adding to concerns about energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline on Saturday.
A Kyiv-Warsaw train was struck near the Polish border, Ukraine's state railway firm said on Sunday. No passengers were injured. Ukrainian Railways said that the country's railways were facing systematic attacks for a second day and warned of widespread delays.
U.S. Central Command said 101 commercial vessels have been redirected in the Strait of Hormuz, while oil prices rose more than three per cent amid fresh regional attacks and supply concerns.
A Russian strike on a farm warehouse in Pryluky, north-central Ukraine, has killed at least three people, local police said. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said an attack on a train near the Polish border was an attempt to intimidate Ukraine's allies.
China will lead the creation of an open source platform among BRICS members to promote cooperation on large language models, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.
A drone hit a petrol station in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv early on Tuesday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that there was also a strike on warehouse facilities in another part of the city.
Every day since a torrent of mud and rocks destroyed a Nepal-China border crossing high up in the Himalayas last month, Arushi Gupta's parents have called and messaged their missing daughter hoping she somehow survived.
Foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand delivered opening statements on Tuesday at the first meeting of a UN arbitration process to resolve a long-running maritime dispute between the two Southeast Asian neighbours.
A federal judge has halted a Trump administration immigration policy that would have significantly changed how long foreign students, exchange visitors and international journalists can remain in the United States.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has expressed cautious optimism about ongoing discussions with the United States regarding Greenland, signalling that Copenhagen believes a cooperative solution can be reached despite years of political tensions surrounding the strategic Arctic territory.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment