WHO chief deeply concerned by scale of Ebola outbreak in DR Congo
"I did not do this lightly... I'm deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic," he said.
Alarm over the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo intensified as the head of the World Health Organization warned that the epidemic’s reach and momentum are cause for serious concern.
“Early on Sunday, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over an epidemic of Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
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“I did not do this lightly… I’m deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic,” he said.
His remarks came as a WHO-led panel of experts prepared to meet to examine whether any vaccine options could help contain the outbreak.
Both the WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have now classified the situation as a public health emergency.
A senior WHO official also cautioned that the outbreak may not be short-lived.
“I don’t think that in two months we will be done with this outbreak,” Anne Ancia, WHO’s DRC representative, told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Bunia in DRC’s Ituri region, pointing to a recent Ebola outbreak that “took two years”.
Watch: WHO chief concerned about scale and speed of Ebola epidemic
There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which carries a fatality rate of up to 40%.
One vaccine, Ervebo, made by Merck, is used against the Ebola Zaire strain but has shown signs in animal studies of offering some protection against Bundibugyo. Whether it or other tools could be tested is expected to feature prominently in the discussions.
A panel of experts led by the WHO is meeting today to discuss whether there are any vaccine options.
“When you have an outbreak with a strain that does not have countermeasures, we are going to advise on the best approach to take,” said Dr Mosoka Fallah, acting director of the science department at Africa CDC.
“We will look at what evidence we have and make a decision.”
The centre of the outbreak lies in the northeastern province of Ituri, along the border with Uganda and South Sudan, where gold-mining activity drives constant movement of people across frontiers.
The virus has already moved beyond that area, spreading into neighbouring provinces and crossing outside the DRC.
A poster displaying Ebola emergency contact numbers is pinned to a tent at the Busunga border crossing between Uganda and DR Congo in Bundibugyo
Suspected cases have been reported in the commercial hub of Butembo in neighbouring North Kivu province, some 200km away from the epidemic’s ground zero, DR Congo health minister Samuel Kamba has said, without giving further details.
Another case has been recorded in Goma, a key provincial capital currently in the hands of the Rwanda-backed M23 militia.
The US State Department strongly urged Americans not to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan or Uganda for any reason and to reconsider travel to Rwanda due to the outbreak of Ebola.
Last night, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak a Continental Public Health Emergency.
Such a declaration allows the Africa CDC, headquartered in Ethiopia, to deploy additional resources, including emergency response teams and expanded surveillance operations.
“Africa CDC expresses deep concern about the high risk of regional spread due to intense cross-border population movements, mobility related to mining activities, insecurity in affected areas, weak infection prevention and control measures… and the proximity of affected areas to Rwanda and South Sudan,” it said.
The agency said it was working closely with the World Health Organization to reinforce coordination mechanisms developed during recent mpox and cholera outbreaks.
“This outbreak is occurring in one of the continent’s most complex operational environments, marked by insecurity, population mobility, fragile health systems, and the limited availability of medical countermeasures for Bundibugyo strain Ebola virus disease,” said Africa CDC head Jean Kaseya.
Germany to admit and treat US Ebola patient from DR Congo
Germany is making arrangements to receive and treat a US doctor who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the current deadly outbreak, according to the German health ministry.
The patient was identified as medical missionary Dr Peter Stafford, who lives in DRC with his wife Rebekah, also a doctor, and their four young children, by the Christian missionary organisation Serge.
“US authorities have requested assistance from the German government in treating a US citizen who contracted Ebola in Congo,” a German health ministry spokesperson said.
“Preparations are currently under way to admit and treat the patient in Germany,” the spokesperson added, without saying where and when the patient would be treated.
“In Germany, there is a nationwide network of experts for the management and care of patients with diseases caused by highly pathogenic agents.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had said that the US doctor had contracted the virus following exposure related “to their work” in DRC and had tested positive late on Sunday.
Missions group Serge said Dr Stafford was exposed while treating patients at Nyankunde hospital, where he had worked since 2023.
The group said it was “grateful for international cooperation to safely care for” the family of six and another doctor who had been treating Ebola patients, Patrick LaRochelle.
It said the doctors and the family would be treated “in a location where they can undergo continued risk monitoring and receive specialised medical care”.
The German ministry did not say whether Dr LaRochelle and Dr Stafford’s wife and family, who had shown no symptoms, would also be flown to Germany.
