The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spreading at a pace that could see it surpass the scale of the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that the outbreak was already the second-largest Ebola epidemic on record and was spreading faster than any previous outbreak.
According to the WHO, 4,449 confirmed cases and 2,061 deaths have been recorded across five provinces and 53 health zones since the outbreak began in mid-May 2026.
About 90% of cases and 80% of deaths are concentrated in Ituri province, with sustained transmission reported in Bunia, Rwampara, Nizi and Lita.
Tedros said the high number of deaths occurring within communities and outside known contact lists suggested that unidentified chains of transmission remained a major challenge.
The WHO and its partners are strengthening surveillance and aim to increase contact tracing coverage from about 80% to 95%. Treatment capacity is also expected to triple to 3,000 beds within 12 weeks.
More than 21,000 community health workers have been trained, while 886 patients have recovered, despite the absence of specifically approved therapeutics and vaccines for the outbreak.
The WHO said two vaccines specifically designed against the Bundibugyo virus have entered Phase 1 human safety trials. WHO’s Continental Preparedness and Response Plan requires $518 million, but only $264 million has so far been disbursed.
WHO official Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu said it remained impossible to establish exactly when the outbreak began, although current estimates suggest transmission may have started two to three months before it was officially declared.
He warned that the response was “not where we need to be”, calling for intensified action and stronger community involvement.