WHO warns of rising Ebola cases in DRC, Uganda

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has raised concerns over the worsening Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, and neighbouring Uganda, warning that more infections are expected in the coming weeks.

 

Tedros disclosed this in an update shared on his X platform on Tuesday.

 

According to him, the DRC has recorded 101 confirmed cases of the Ebola Bundibugyo virus, including 10 deaths.

 

He, however, noted that the outbreak could be significantly larger, with more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths already reported.

 

Tedros also revealed that Uganda had confirmed two additional Ebola infections among healthcare workers, bringing the country’s total confirmed cases to seven, including one fatality.

 

The WHO chief said health authorities and partners were intensifying containment efforts to prevent further spread of the virus.

 

“We are continuing to scale up the response with our partners, and we expect more cases to be identified in the coming days and weeks,” he said.

 

Tedros stressed that early case detection and contact tracing remain critical in containing the outbreak.

 

“The sooner we can trace people with infections and identify their contacts, the sooner we can provide the care they need and bring this outbreak under control,” he added.

 

Health authorities across affected areas have continued surveillance, testing and emergency response measures as efforts intensify to contain the outbreak.