The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) traveled to Bunia in eastern Congo to address an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola. Despite better-organized health facilities and new aid, the virus continues to spread rapidly.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus plans to visit treatment centers and meet with local authorities, health workers, and affected families in Bunia. He emphasized the need for comprehensive support to combat the disease at its epicenter.
The best way to address this is to provide all the necessary support to fight the disease at its epicenter and to continue offering every assistance needed.
Latest figures indicate 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths. Uganda confirmed nine cases and one death. The Bundibugyo virus strain has no approved treatment or vaccine.
“This is a difficult situation, and we recognize that. But the Democratic Republic of Congo has faced the Ebola virus many times before. We are confident that it can once again bring this outbreak under control,” Tedros affirmed after a meeting with Congo’s Prime Minister.
Recent aid efforts include medical supplies donated by the European Union arriving in Ituri, the outbreak’s center. The U.S. announced $80 million in additional aid, raising its total to over $112 million. Response efforts in Bunia’s hospitals show organization, but arrivals of new patients continue nonstop.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned about the rapid spread, highlighting that it is one of the fastest-spreading outbreaks recorded. Dr. Alan Gonzalez, MSF’s deputy director of operations, emphasized the need for expanded testing and faster aid deployment. “Nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak.”
Health workers face threats due to local anger over stringent medical protocols that clash with burial rites. Attacks on health centers have occurred. Additionally, security issues in Ituri, with attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces and ethnic militias, have disrupted response efforts.
The disease has appeared in Congolese provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, controlled partly by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, complicating containment efforts.
Both Uganda and Rwanda closed their borders. The Trump administration banned entry for non-U.S. passport holders who recently visited Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan. Tedros criticized these measures, stating they discourage transparency and do not prevent the outbreak’s spread, urging reconsideration of such actions.