WHO: Over 900 suspected cases identified in DRC Ebola response
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sunday that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has identified more than 900 suspected Ebola cases so far, including 101 confirmed infections, as authorities expand surveillance efforts, Xinhua reported.
Tedros said nearly 5 million people live in Ituri province, the center of the outbreak, amid ongoing conflict. About one in four residents require humanitarian assistance, while one in five has been internally displaced, he wrote in a post on X.
“The violence is forcing people to flee, including health and humanitarian workers. This is severely impeding efforts to scale up Ebola contact tracing and identify infections early enough to provide supportive care,” he noted, adding that ongoing insecurity and fear are also fueling mistrust within communities.
According to Tedros, WHO and humanitarian health partners continue operating across Ituri, including in some of hardest-to-reach and insecure areas, where residents face not only Ebola but numerous other diseases.
He stressed that providing a broad range of healthcare services is essential both to address urgent medical needs and to build the public trust necessary for an effective Ebola response.
On May 16, Tedros declared that the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC and Uganda constituted a public health emergency of international concern.
On May 22, WHO revised its risk assessment to "very high" at the national level, while remaining "high" at the regional level and "low" globally.