Overview
- WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters the epidemic is spreading at record speed and could eclipse the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak if not contained.
- Official counts reported by WHO put the outbreak at roughly 4,400 infections and more than 2,000 deaths since the current wave began.
- WHO says too few contacts of infected people are being traced, a gap that has left response teams trying to catch up after the outbreak gained an early head start.
- The virus in this outbreak is the Bundibugyo variant, for which there is no approved vaccine or therapy, and many affected communities are hard to reach or under rebel control, complicating care and surveillance.
- WHO emergency directors project the outbreak could peak within months under a moderate scenario but could last longer, and the agency warns failure to close tracing and access gaps would increase strain on local health systems and raise the risk of much wider spread.