Kinshasa/Geneva — The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a “public health emergency of international concern,” amid growing fears over cross-border transmission and the absence of approved vaccines or treatments for the strain involved.
Health authorities say the outbreak has recorded:
Eight laboratory-confirmed cases
246 suspected cases
80 suspected deaths
in Ituri Province in eastern Congo.
The WHO also confirmed two laboratory-confirmed cases in neighbouring Uganda, including one death, involving individuals who had recently travelled from the DRC.
The outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus — a less common variant for which there are currently no approved vaccines or specific therapeutics.
The development has heightened concern among international health agencies, particularly given the region’s porous borders and the history of rapid disease spread during previous Ebola outbreaks.
The latest outbreak marks the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak since the virus first emerged in Central Africa in the 1970s.
Health experts say containment efforts are being complicated by persistent insecurity in eastern Congo, where armed conflict, displacement, weak healthcare infrastructure, and limited access to remote communities continue to challenge emergency response operations.
The WHO’s emergency declaration is expected to accelerate international funding, surveillance, border monitoring, and medical response efforts aimed at preventing wider regional transmission.
Authorities in affected areas have intensified contact tracing, isolation measures, and public awareness campaigns as health agencies work to contain the outbreak before it spreads further across the region.
Analysts warn that the absence of vaccines or targeted treatment options for the Bundibugyo strain significantly increases the urgency of early containment and regional coordination.