Ebola deaths in eastern Congo rise to 131, WHO voices deep concern

BUNIA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Bunia reported 26 additional suspected Ebola deaths within 24 hours in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, health authorities said Tuesday, as the head of the World Health Organization expressed deep concern over the rapid spread of the outbreak.

The latest fatalities bring the total death toll linked to the outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to 131. Health officials have recorded 543 suspected cases and 33 confirmed infections in the country, while two confirmed cases have also been identified in neighboring Uganda.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Saturday, marking the first time such a designation was made before an emergency committee was convened. He said he was “deeply concerned” about the scale and speed of the epidemic during a World Health Assembly briefing in Geneva.

Health experts said the outbreak raised alarm because it spread undetected for weeks across a densely populated region affected by ongoing armed violence. An earlier outbreak between 2018 and 2020 in eastern Congo was the second-deadliest on record, killing nearly 2,300 people.

The city of Butembo recorded its first two confirmed cases on Monday, according to Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research.

Authorities in Uganda have begun restricting movement at the Ishasha-Kyeshero border crossing, though officials said the border has not been formally closed. Further south, travelers attempting to enter Rwanda from the cities of Goma and Bukavu have been stopped at border points, according to reports.

The WHO has urged countries not to close borders, warning that such actions could push movement into unmonitored informal crossings and worsen surveillance gaps.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected individuals or animals and has an average fatality rate of about 50%, according to the WHO.

“I’m deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic,” Tedros said.

WHO representative in the DRC, Anne Ancia, said limited diagnostic capacity has slowed case detection, with laboratories able to process only about six tests per hour for the Bundibugyo strain.

Experts have warned that delays in detection highlight ongoing gaps in outbreak preparedness following reductions in global health funding by the United States and other donors.

“We seemed to have wasted a pandemic because everybody has gone back to doing what they’re doing,” Sierra Leone Health Minister Austin Demby said in Geneva.

In the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that one American tested positive for Ebola. The individual, identified by a Christian mission organization as Dr. Peter Stafford, along with six other Americans exposed to the virus, is being transferred to Germany for treatment and monitoring.

The United States has also suspended entry for travelers who have been in the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past 21 days, with limited exceptions, for a 30-day period, while advising citizens against travel to those countries.

However, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned that such restrictions could harm economies, reduce transparency, and complicate humanitarian response efforts.

Unlike the more common Zaire strain, there are currently no approved vaccines or virus-specific treatments for the Bundibugyo strain. U.S. officials said an initial $13 million has been mobilized for response efforts, including work on a monoclonal antibody therapy.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said 50 treatment clinics are being planned, noting that access remains difficult due to the outbreak’s rural spread.

A WHO-led expert panel is also reviewing potential vaccine options. The Merck-developed Merck & Co Ebola vaccine Ervebo has been identified as a candidate, though officials said it may take up to two months before deployment is possible.

WHO officials also acknowledged that funding cuts have limited response capacity, despite ongoing coordination with U.S. agencies.

The outbreak continues to evolve as health authorities race to contain transmission in one of the world’s most unstable regions, where conflict and limited infrastructure complicate surveillance and treatment efforts. -Emma Farge reported from Geneva; Additional reporting by Jennifer Rigby in London, Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva and Elias Biryabarema in Kampala, Michael Martina in Washington; Writing by Aaron Ross and David Lewis; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Gareth Jones/Reuters