WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at its current pace, would eclipse the 2014-2016 outbreak that killed at least 11,000 people. The outbreak, officially declared May 15, has already recorded at least 4,300 cases and more than 2,000 deaths, caused by the rare Bundibugyo species, for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists.
WHO Africa director Dr Mohamed Janabi said the virus began spreading in February, months before detection, and was initially mistaken for malaria or typhoid. Regional instability in eastern DR Congo has hampered response efforts, with health workers reaching only about 30% of cases.
The WHO aims to bring transmission under control within three months, though officials stressed this would not end the outbreak entirely. The UK's MHRA has approved the first human trials of an Oxford-developed vaccine for this Ebola strain, while the WHO separately sponsors a trial testing existing antivirals in DR Congo.
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