Africa’s top public health agency warned on Sunday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is still not under control, six months after officials first declared it.
Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, spoke to Reuters about the severity of the situation. He said that if authorities fail to halt transmission now, the epidemic could become the worst the world has ever witnessed.
Government data shows that more than 11,200 cases and 5,500 deaths have been recorded since the outbreak was announced on May 15. More than 80 percent of new cases emerge outside contact lists, while over 65 percent of deaths happen within communities rather than health centres.
The virus has now reached East, Central, and West Africa, marking the widest geographic spread for any Ebola epidemic on the continent to date. Kaseya said the situation is serious and uncontrolled.
The current health emergency stems from the rare Bundibugyo strain, which causes haemorrhagic fever and kills roughly half of those infected. This is the second-largest and second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, trailing only the 2014 to 2016 West African epidemic that infected more than 28,600 people and killed over 11,000.
Eight of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s 26 provinces have sustained infections. Delayed detection, regional conflict, and strained medical services have accelerated the spread compared to previous emergencies.
Kaseya pointed to coordination problems between the host government and international donors, describing the shortfall as a collective failure. Donors pledged 2.9 billion dollars, but only 1.3 billion dollars has been released so far.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is working with Kinshasa to prevent wasted resources through duplication. The government is also digitising payroll systems for health workers who have gone unpaid for months.
Containment efforts face steep hurdles because no vaccine or treatment has been developed specifically for the Bundibugyo strain. Earlier in the month, the World Health Organization approved clinical trials for two new Ebola vaccines, with results anticipated in early 2027.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a social media post that transmission is slowing in several early epicentres. He added that clinical trials, including the Tumaini trial and new vaccine candidates, are advancing rapidly.
At least 3,000 people have recovered from the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and returned to their homes, according to the World Health Organization.
