Ebola spreading in DRC 'faster than any previous outbreak': WHO

Dr Jeremie Bataga, a physician at the Ebola Treatment Center of Rwampara General Hospital, in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the DR Congo on July 13, 2026. [AFP]

The World Health Organization warned Thursday that Ebola was spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo at a faster pace than during any previous outbreak of the deadly virus.

More than 2,000 cases including 796 deaths have been confirmed in the DR Congo since the outbreak was declared two months ago, making it "now the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

By comparison, he pointed out that the big Ebola outbreak in DRC in 2018-2020 "took more than 10 months to reach 2,000 confirmed cases", warning that the virus was spreading faster than ever seen before.

"In the past month, it has expanded faster than any previous outbreak," he warned.

The DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 after several deaths in Ituri, a mineral-rich northeastern province plagued by armed groups.

Cases of Ebola, which spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids, have so far been found in five DRC provinces, as well as in neighbouring Uganda.

The current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

While the response to the outbreak has been ramping up, Tedros warned that "more than 80 percent of new cases are being detected outside known contact lists, showing that transmission chains are still being missed".

"About two-thirds of deaths are occurring in communities among people who never received care in a health facility," he said.

Tedros said that one of the biggest concerns was "the complex environment in which the outbreak is happening", amid an active armed conflict.

He pointed out that on Wednesday, a treatment centre "was attacked" in Ituri's capital Bunia.