All articles tagged with #who
With 100 days into the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, leaders say the response hinges on community leadership—survivors, women, health workers and local groups—working with authorities to find cases, trace contacts, vaccinate, and ensure safe burials; Uganda’s success shows the approach can work, but the next phase must reach villages with protected facilities, reliable funding, and strong cross-border coordination to stop transmission.
DRC’s Ebola outbreak has risen to 5,515 confirmed cases and 2,642 deaths (case fatality rate around 48%), with vaccine deliveries underway (16,250 doses arrived and 70,000 pledged) to tackle the Bundibugyo strain. Contact tracing improved to over 85%, but violence, displacement and attacks on health workers hinder containment. The WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and Pope Leo urged global and local action to save lives as the response scales up, even as global risk remains low and internal risk stays high.
DR Congo will test the Ervebo Ebola vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain in a clinical trial as the outbreak expands rapidly, with about 2,500 deaths reported. The WHO says infections are growing exponentially across the north and east. The plan allocates 20,000 doses for the trial and 50,000 for frontline health workers, in a bid to broaden protection beyond the Zaïre strain; the response is complicated by conflict, misdiagnosis early on, burial practices, and new movement restrictions imposed by the M23 rebel group to limit spread.
DR Congo will receive 70,000 Ervebo Ebola vaccine doses from a global stockpile, including 20,000 for a late-stage trial on the Bundibugyo virus; Ervebo is not yet proven against Bundibugyo, while 50,000 doses will go to frontline health workers, funded by Gavi. The outbreak has killed about 2,476 people out of 5,208 confirmed cases, prompting intensified UN/WHO-led response and vaccination efforts.
An Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo, driven by the Bundibugyo variant, has infected over 5,100 people and killed about 2,420, making it the deadliest, fastest‑moving outbreak in the country’s history. The WHO says the situation is far from under control, with many deaths occurring in communities and transmission spanning six provinces. Response efforts—surveillance, treatment capacity, and experimental vaccines—are being scaled up, but funding shortfalls and delayed detection hinder containment. Uganda’s previous Bundibugyo experience offers some lessons, but the cross-border risk remains high for neighboring countries.
The World Health Organization has declared the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ebola outbreak a global health emergency as infections surpassed 5,000 and deaths exceeded 2,300, warning the epidemic is far from under control amid conflict, misinformation and the absence of an approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain. Officials say the response must identify and break every transmission chain, scale up community engagement, and repurpose transport networks (including motorbike riders) for surveillance, even as experimental vaccines advance.
Congo’s Bundibugyo virus Ebola outbreak has become the country’s fastest-growing and deadliest on record, with 4,945 cases and 2,325 deaths reported, surpassing the 2018–2020 outbreak. In the past 24 hours there were 101 new cases and 33 deaths, more than 1,000 people have recovered, and 730 remain in hospitals or isolation. There are no approved vaccines or treatments yet, though trials are underway in Ituri. Challenges include unpaid health workers on strike, rebel threats, difficult terrain, and misinformation. The World Health Organization says the outbreak is moving at an exceptional pace, and the UN has allocated $30.5 million and sent 20 more staff to aid the response, underscoring the urgency to speed up containment.
Congo’s Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has killed over 2,300 people and infected about 4,945, making it the deadliest and fastest-moving outbreak in the country’s history; 101 new cases and 33 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. With no approved vaccines or treatments, trials are underway in Ituri as the WHO and UN scale up response amid challenges such as health worker strikes, rebel threats, misinformation, and hard-to-reach areas.
DR Congo's Ebola outbreak has become the deadliest in the country's history, with 2,325 deaths and 4,945 cases; the Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccines or treatments, and weak health infrastructure and ongoing conflict have hindered response, as UN and WHO urge speed, scale, and solidarity to prevent further spread and the case fatality rate rises toward 46%.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has become the deadliest in the country’s history, with at least 2,325 deaths among 4,945 confirmed cases (101 new in the last 24 hours), predominantly in Ituri province as six of 26 provinces are affected. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain driving this surge, and the outbreak is the fastest-growing on record. In May, the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern. Uganda has also reported cases, and transmission occurs via contact with infected bodily fluids and contaminated surfaces.
A Bundibugyo-strain Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has spread to Bas-Uele, bringing the number of affected provinces to six; the death toll is about 2,128 from 4,566 infections. WHO warns the spread is faster than previous outbreaks and could become the deadliest on record, while two vaccines and other treatments are in trials as health officials push containment efforts.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to Bas-Uele, the sixth province, with more than 2,100 deaths and 4,500 cases; the WHO cautions the outbreak could surpass the 2014–16 West Africa epidemic, noting the virus appears fast-moving and spreading beyond monitored contacts. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for Bundibugyo virus, and misinformation and unpaid health-worker strikes complicate response efforts. About 60–70% of new cases are outside monitored contacts, while two treatments are in clinical trials in Ituri as the outbreak—declared in May—likely began earlier, in February, and now affects six provinces.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus warns the Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola outbreak is already the second-largest on record, spreading faster than any previous outbreak and on track to eclipse the West Africa epidemic of 2014–2016, with 4,449 confirmed cases and 2,061 deaths across five provinces; he notes many deaths occur in communities without treatment centers, stressing the need to trace and break every transmission chain as the Bundibugyo variant drives the surge.
The 2026 Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on track to become the deadliest, with about 4,300 cases and 2,000 deaths since May; the virus is ahead of response efforts, only around 30% of cases are reached due to instability, and there is no approved vaccine or therapy for this strain, though Oxford-based vaccine trials and antiviral studies are progressing.
More than 2,000 people have died and 4,381 cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak, declared May 15, making it the second-largest on record and spreading faster than prior epidemics. The Bundibugyo strain, which lacks a vaccine, is amplified by diagnostic blind spots, fighting-access in a conflict zone, and weak contact tracing, with WHO officials saying the outbreak probably started in February.