Overview
- Official tallies rose to about 1,960 confirmed cases and more than 700 deaths by mid-July, but WHO models estimate the true caseload may be two to four times larger.
- The epidemic is driven by the rare Bundibugyo variant of Ebola, for which there is no licensed vaccine or proven treatment, making containment harder and riskier.
- Two WHO-supported clinical investigations are under way testing remdesivir and the broadly neutralizing MBP134 antibody regimen, but results will take months and require many participants.
- Response capacity has increased to more than 700 treatment beds and contact tracing near 80 percent, yet a strike by unpaid staff at the Rwampara treatment centre and attacks and poor roads are disrupting care and surveillance.
- WHO has appealed for $115 million and received roughly 40 percent so far, leaving funding gaps that could slow testing, community outreach, safe burials and the large trials needed to determine effective therapies.