The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that the current Ebola outbreak affecting Congo and Uganda carries significant risk at the national and regional level, though the threat of worldwide transmission remains minimal.
This assessment comes as the head of WHO’s team in Congo indicated the crisis, which has resulted in 134 suspected fatalities, may persist for a minimum of two additional months while relief organizations work to control transmission.
The global health agency has classified this Ebola outbreak as a public health emergency requiring international coordination. Officials expressed alarm Tuesday regarding the outbreak’s “scale and speed.”
Local residents report increasing costs for protective masks and cleaning supplies after the emergence of this uncommon Ebola strain, called the Bundibugyo virus. This variant went undetected for weeks after the initial known fatality because authorities initially tested for a more prevalent strain that returned negative results, according to health officials and humanitarian workers. Currently, no authorized treatments or vaccines exist for the Bundibugyo virus.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported Wednesday that 51 confirmed cases have been documented in Congo’s northern Ituri and North Kivu provinces, plus two additional cases in Uganda. He noted nearly 600 additional suspected cases and deaths beyond the confirmed numbers.
“We know that the scale of the epidemic is much larger,” he said. “We expect those numbers to keep increasing.”
Congo anticipates receiving experimental vaccine shipments from the United States and Britain for various Ebola strains, created by Oxford researchers, Jean-Jacques Muyembe from the National Institute of Biomedical Research informed reporters Tuesday.
“We will administer the vaccine and see who develops the disease,” he said.
Health specialists noted that delayed virus identification, significant population movement in affected regions, and existing humanitarian challenges have complicated response efforts. Armed rebel groups control portions of eastern Congo, creating obstacles for aid distribution.
Congo reported the first virus-related death occurred April 24 in Bunia, though confirmation took several weeks. The deceased was returned to the Mongbwalu health zone, a mining region with substantial population density.
“That caused the Ebola outbreak to escalate,” said Congo’s Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba.
Dr. Anne Ancia, leading WHO’s Congo team, stated officials have not yet located “patient zero.” She emphasized the lengthy response ahead, noting that funding reductions have had “a marked detrimental effect on humanitarian actors.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed reporters Tuesday that the current administration would increase Ebola response involvement, prioritizing funding for 50 emergency medical facilities in affected regions. The United States has provided $13 million thus far, with additional funding planned, according to Rubio.
In Bunia, where the first confirmed death occurred, educational institutions and religious facilities continued operating Wednesday, with some residents wearing protective masks outdoors. Citizens reported difficulty obtaining masks and noted disinfectant prices rising 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 resident of Bunia. “We have to protect ourselves to avoid this epidemic.”
Trish Newport, emergency program manager from Doctors Without Borders, said her Bunia team discovered suspected cases over the weekend at Salama hospital, which lacks an isolation unit. Attempts to transfer patients to other Bunia medical facilities proved unsuccessful.
“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 suspects cases. We don’t have any space.’ This gives you a vision of how crazy it is right now.”
In Mongbwalu, the community at the outbreak’s center, the Ugandan border remains accessible and gold extraction operations continue, according to local civil society leader Chérubin Kuku Ndilawa.
“There’s no panic; people are continuing their normal lives, but they’re also starting to spread the word,” said Ndilawa.
Containment efforts face challenges due to insufficient handwashing facilities in community spaces, Ndilawa reported.
Dr. Didier Pay, former director of Mongbwalu General Hospital, said his medical facility was caring for approximately 30 Ebola patients. He confirmed a student from the area’s medical technology school died Wednesday morning.
