Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has announced that Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have risen to 344 confirmed infections, with 60 deaths recorded so far.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Ghebreyesus revealed that the backlog of suspected Ebola cases has dropped significantly—from over 1,000 to 116—due to improved laboratory testing capacity across affected areas.
The WHO chief gave the update after returning from Ituri Province, the epicentre of the outbreak, where he met with political leaders, frontline health workers, and community groups involved in response efforts.
According to him, WHO’s latest risk assessment remains “very high” at the national level, “high” at the regional level, and “low” globally, despite ongoing measures to contain the outbreak and strengthen surveillance.
He noted that confirmed cases have been recorded across 24 health zones in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces, highlighting the scale of the outbreak and the operational challenges faced by response teams.
“Treatment capacity has expanded with three centres and 80 beds now open in Bunia, plus units in Mongbwalu, Rwampara, Beni, Goma and Bukavu.
“Six people have recovered in DRC and two in Uganda, but contact tracing still lags at 45 per cent against the 90 per cent target needed to control spread,” he said.
Ghebreyesus further disclosed that the outbreak has crossed international borders, with Uganda reporting 15 confirmed cases and one death, including a Congolese resident who travelled through the United Arab Emirates.
He added that a U.S. citizen infected in the DRC is currently receiving treatment in Germany, while WHO continues to coordinate with Ugandan and UAE authorities on contact tracing and exposure-risk assessments.
The WHO Director-General identified five major challenges hindering response efforts and stressed the urgent need to strengthen surveillance, community engagement, and access to affected areas.
“First, testing delays persist, so WHO is decentralising labs to Mongbwalu, Beni, Aru, Nyakunde and Tchomia. Second, only 45 per cent of contacts are being followed in DRC due to insecurity and displacement.
“Third, blanket travel restrictions are disrupting supply chains in spite of WHO recommending exit screening instead.
“Fourth, community mistrust remains high, with some leaders still doubting Ebola is real. Building trust is now a core priority and Fifth, there are still no approved vaccines or therapeutics,” he said.
According to Ghebreyesus, WHO has activated its Medical Countermeasures Network to accelerate trials and improve diagnostics, noting that leadership, community ownership, and trust are critical to ending the outbreak.
“Our ultimate measure of success is not whether we stop this outbreak. We will.
“DRC has stopped 16 previous Ebola outbreaks.
“The real measure is what we do to prevent the 18th and 19th. If communities survive Ebola only to die from malaria, malnutrition or other diseases, we have not really helped them.
“WHO pledged to stay after the outbreak ends to help build stronger health and humanitarian services under government leadership,” he said.