The World Health Organization on Friday raised the risk level of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo to “very high” nationally, warning the virus could spread rapidly as infections continue to rise.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
“We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.
The UN health agency declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday after cases were confirmed in eastern Congo and neighbouring Uganda.
According to the WHO, Congo has so far recorded 82 confirmed Ebola cases, including seven deaths. Authorities are also investigating 177 suspected deaths and nearly 750 suspected infections.
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WHO officials warned that the outbreak’s trajectory had become increasingly worrying.
“The potential of this virus spreading rapidly is high, very high, and that changed the whole dynamic,” said Abdirahman Mahamud, WHO director of health emergency alert and response operations.
Uganda has confirmed two Ebola infections linked to travellers arriving from Congo, including one fatal case.
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Tedros said Ugandan authorities had acted swiftly by intensifying contact tracing operations and cancelling a major public gathering, measures the WHO believes may have helped prevent wider transmission.
The WHO also confirmed that an American citizen working in Congo had tested positive for Ebola and was transferred to Germany for specialised medical care.
Tedros added that reports had emerged of another US national considered a high-risk contact being transferred to the Czech Republic.
WHO chief scientist Sylvie Briand said researchers were exploring the possible use of an experimental antiviral drug called Obeldesivir to help prevent Ebola infection among close contacts of patients.
The oral antiviral medicine was developed by Gilead Sciences as a treatment for COVID-19.
“This is a promising treatment drug, but it has still to be implemented under a very, very strict protocol,” Briand cautioned.
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The latest outbreak has renewed fears of another major Ebola crisis in central Africa, where fragile health systems and population movements can complicate containment efforts.
