The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is already the second-largest on record.

Mr Ghebreyesus said this on Wednesday during an online media conference on Ebola and global health issues.

He warned that the outbreak was moving faster than any previous Ebola epidemic and could surpass the 2014–2016 West African outbreak.

The WHO chief disclosed that 4,449 confirmed cases and 2,061 deaths had been reported across five provinces and 53 health zones.

He said that more than 90 per cent of cases and 80 per cent of deaths were concentrated in Ituri Province.

“Sustained transmission is occurring in Bunia, Rwampara, Nizi and Lita, raising concerns over continued community spread,” he said.

Mr Ghebreyesus said that many deaths were occurring in communities rather than treatment centres and among people outside known contact lists.

He said the situation indicated unidentified transmission chains that must be found and interrupted to bring the outbreak under control.

“Late-stage illness outside treatment centres and unsafe handling of bodies after death are major drivers of Ebola transmission,” he said.

According to him, early clinical care and safe, dignified burials remain critical to stopping further transmission.

The D-G said community trust, engagement and ownership were essential for successfully implementing Ebola response measures.

“Under government leadership, partners are scaling up surveillance, treatment, contact tracing and other response measures across affected areas.

“Community-based surveillance is being strengthened, while authorities aim to increase contact tracing from about 80 per cent to the required 95 per cent.

“Treatment capacity is being tripled, with a target of establishing 3,000 beds within 12 weeks,” he said.

He said the response also required thousands of additional health workers, with three workers needed for every patient receiving care, as no fewer than 21,000 community health workers had already been trained to support response activities in affected communities.

“Treatment centres, laboratories, safe burial teams and community engagement activities are operating across affected provinces, reaching hundreds of thousands of people.

“In spite of the challenges, 886 patients have recovered from the disease, although specific therapeutics and vaccines remain under development,” he said.

According to him, two vaccines specifically designed against Bundibugyo virus had entered phase-one human safety trials, marking progress in vaccine development.

The WHO chief recommended including a Zaire ebolavirus vaccine in a phase-three trial following promising evidence of cross-protection in animal studies.

Mr Ghebreyesus said the vaccine’s effectiveness against Bundibugyo disease in humans remained unknown, making the phase-three trial essential.

He also said that the WHO-sponsored PARTNERS trial had reached 100 patients as researchers accelerated efforts to generate evidence on effective treatments.

He added that the response required collective action, with WHO, governments, Africa CDC and international partners working together to contain the outbreak.

“Funding remains a major challenge, with only 264 million dollars of the 518 million dollars required under the Continental Preparedness and Response Plan disbursed.”

Mr Ghebreyesus also urged timely financing, improved security and access to affected areas, particularly amid armed conflict in eastern DRC.

On childhood vaccination, he warned against policy changes not aligned with scientific evidence, stressing that vaccines, including Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR), are safe and do not cause autism.

Also, marking International Youth Day, he said young people faced health threats including mental health conditions, loneliness, violence and road traffic crashes, requiring stronger youth participation in global health. 

(NAN)