The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that the true scale of the Ebola virus epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could be ‘two to four times greater than the officially recorded number of cases.’
‘According to our projections, the true scale of the epidemic could be between two and four times higher than the number of officially registered cases,’ Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the WHO’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, told reporters. He added, however, that the organisation’s capacity to ‘detect cases is increasing and improving every day.’
Declared two months ago in the province of Ituri, in the northeastern DRC near the borders with South Sudan and Uganda, the Ebola epidemic has officially claimed 702 lives and 1,926 confirmed cases, according to the latest government data. The outbreak has since spread to the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo, and Haut-Uélé.
‘This is now the third-largest Ebola epidemic on record and the one that has recorded the fastest progression in a single month of all the epidemics we have ever managed,’ Ihekweazu warned, following a visit to eastern DRC. According to the official, ‘despite the progress made, the epidemic continues to outpace the response efforts of national authorities, international partners including the WHO, and the most affected communities.’
In his assessment, the ‘most alarming’ aspect is the fact that ‘many of the newly reported cases involve people who died in their communities without ever reaching a health facility or receiving care.’
‘We need to detect cases earlier. We need to strengthen and accelerate contact tracing. We need to ensure that health facilities are accessible, safe, and trusted by the communities they serve,’ the WHO official added, noting that more than 90% of cases continued to be detected in Ituri.
Among the more encouraging developments, Ihekweazu highlighted that the contact-tracing rate is now approaching 80%, that 700 beds are currently available for treating patients, and that the number of laboratories has increased from one to fourteen.
The official also noted that two treatments are currently being tested in the field, and that the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in Kinshasa, the French agency ANRS MIE, and the non-governmental organisation Alima are expected to shortly announce the launch of a clinical trial to evaluate a post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) based on the antiviral obeldesivir in individuals who have been in contact with confirmed cases.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/07/15/mundo/africa/ebola-oms-alerta-que-surto-podera-ser-ate-quatro-vezes-superior-as-estimativas/
