Overview
- Official tallies published Wednesday showed about 2,473 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 999 deaths and, when combined with Uganda’s figures, more than 1,000 deaths overall.
- WHO warned the outbreak is expanding faster than prior events and that the true number of infections could be up to four times higher because many cases are likely undetected.
- The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo variant, has spread from Ituri into North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo and produced confirmed cross-border cases in Uganda.
- Public health teams report that contact tracing is incomplete and armed insecurity and displacement in eastern DRC are blocking access to communities and slowing case detection and isolation.
- No licensed vaccine or approved specific treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain, trials of investigational vaccines and therapies are underway, and neighbouring countries have tightened border screening while donors are being asked to fill large funding gaps.