Ebola Cases Nearly Double in Two Days in DR Congo as WHO Chief Visits Epicenter

The head of the United Nations health agency is visiting the Ebola epicenter in eastern DR Congo, urging local communities to lead the fight against a disease whose confirmed cases have nearly doubled in two days.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, on Saturday. “Communities understand the problem better, and they also know the solutions,” Tedros told reporters, stressing the role of communities in outbreak response.

Authorities in DR Congo reported 225 confirmed cases on Friday, nearly doubling the 121 cases recorded two days earlier.

This outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare and severe form of Ebola with no approved vaccine or treatment. The WHO has declared the outbreak a global health emergency. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) described it as one of the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreaks ever recorded.

Officials have also recorded 1,028 suspected cases and more than 220 suspected Ebola deaths in DR Congo. The disease has spread to neighboring Uganda, which has nine confirmed cases and one death.

Ebola was first identified in this Central African region in 1976; this is DR Congo's 17th outbreak. Bundibugyo is one of three virus strains causing most major epidemics. The most dangerous strain, Zaire ebolavirus, caused the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak with over 28,000 cases.

“No one knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak,” warned MSF, saying response efforts have not kept pace. The WHO has also warned that the fatality rate could reach 30–50%—similar to two previous Bundibugyo outbreaks—though the rate among confirmed cases so far remains lower.

An Al Jazeera correspondent in Goma, eastern DR Congo, reported that the country’s health ministry has expanded testing, contact tracing, and surveillance, potentially uncovering cases previously missed.

The European Union has sent medical supplies to Ituri, and the US has pledged over $112 million in aid. However, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said global financing for the outbreak response has fallen by more than half, from $498 million to $219 million.

The outbreak recorded its first confirmed recovery this week. The WHO is working with DR Congo and Uganda to evaluate experimental drugs and a possible vaccine.

Tedros, who met DR Congo Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka in Kinshasa before flying to Bunia, expressed confidence the country could contain the outbreak. However, ongoing conflict in eastern DR Congo is hampering containment efforts. Medical teams in Ituri have been attacked by the ADF armed group linked to ISIL as well as local militias. The virus has also spread to North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group controls major cities.

Anger over strict rules for handling dead bodies, which clash with local burial customs, has led to at least three attacks on health facilities.

Regional countries are on high alert. Uganda and Rwanda have both closed their borders with DR Congo, while the US has banned most travelers who have been to DR Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan. The WHO advises against such measures, and Tedros dismissed border closures as ineffective, saying they make countries hesitant to report outbreaks openly.

Health ministers from IGAD, an eight-member East African bloc, met this week and agreed to redirect approximately $7 million for prevention efforts across the region.

A US plan to open an Ebola isolation center in Kenya for American citizens at risk of exposure was blocked by a Kenyan court this week after a human rights group objected. Africa CDC also opposed the facility, warning it would strain Kenya’s health system, while Kenyan officials defended it as an international obligation. The US said it hopes to resolve the dispute.