The World Health Organization stated on Wednesday that the risk of Ebola spreading globally from the current outbreak in Congo and Uganda is high at national and regional levels but low globally. This assessment comes as the WHO's team leader in Congo indicated the outbreak, which has caused 134 suspected deaths, may persist for at least two more months despite intensified aid efforts.
Outbreak Declared a Public Health Emergency
The WHO has classified the Ebola outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern, necessitating a coordinated global response. On Tuesday, the organization expressed alarm over the "scale and speed" of the outbreak. The rare Bundibugyo virus strain, for which no approved medicines or vaccines exist, spread undetected for weeks after the first known death, as authorities initially tested for a more common Ebola type, health experts and aid workers reported.
As of Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed 51 cases in Congo's northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, along with two in Uganda. Additionally, nearly 600 suspected cases and suspected deaths have been recorded. "We know that the scale of the epidemic is much larger," Tedros stated. "We expect those numbers to keep increasing."
Delayed Detection Complicates Response
Congo is expecting shipments from the United States and Britain of an experimental vaccine developed by Oxford researchers for other Ebola types, according to Jean-Jacques Muyembe, a virus expert at the National Institute of Biomedical Research. "We will administer the vaccine and see who develops the disease," Muyembe told reporters on Tuesday. Health experts noted that delayed virus detection, significant population movements in affected areas, and the preexisting humanitarian crisis have complicated the response. Parts of eastern Congo are controlled by armed rebels, hindering aid delivery.
Congo reported the first death from the virus on April 24 in Bunia, but confirmation took weeks. The body was repatriated to the Mongbwalu health zone, a mining area with a dense population, which "caused the Ebola outbreak to escalate," said Congo's Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba. Dr. Anne Ancia, head of the WHO team in Congo, said authorities have yet to identify "patient zero." She emphasized the long road ahead and noted that funding cuts have had "a marked detrimental effect on humanitarian actors."
International Response and Local Impact
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that the Trump administration would "lean into" Ebola response efforts, prioritizing funding for 50 emergency clinics in affected areas. The U.S. has contributed $13 million so far, with more expected, Rubio said. In Bunia, the site of the first known death, schools and churches remained open Wednesday, and some residents wore masks. Locals reported that masks have become scarce and disinfectant prices have surged from 2,500 Congolese francs to 10,000 francs ($4.4). "It's truly sad and painful because we've already been through a security crisis, and now Ebola is here too," said Justin Ndasi, a Bunia resident. "We have to protect ourselves to avoid this epidemic."
Trish Newport, emergency program manager for Doctors Without Borders, said her team identified suspected cases over the weekend at Salama hospital, which lacks an isolation ward. Efforts to transfer patients to other facilities failed. "The team called around to other health facilities to see if they had isolations," she said. "Every health facility they called said, 'We're full of suspect cases. We don't have any space.' This gives you a vision of how crazy it is right now."
In Mongbwalu, the outbreak's epicenter, the border with Uganda remains open, and gold mining continues, said Chérubin Kuku Ndilawa, a local civil society leader. "There's no panic; people are continuing their normal lives, but they're also starting to spread the word," Ndilawa noted. Containment efforts have been hampered by a lack of handwashing stations in public areas. Dr. Didier Pay, former director of Mongbwalu General Hospital, said his clinic was treating around 30 Ebola patients, and a student from the local medical technology institute died on Wednesday morning.
