The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the public health risk from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from “high” to “very high”.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the revised assessment on Friday, warning that the outbreak continues to worsen in the conflict-hit eastern region of the country.
“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,” he said during a briefing in Geneva.
According to the WHO, the outbreak has recorded 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. So far, 82 cases and seven deaths have been laboratory confirmed in the DRC.
The outbreak is linked to the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has no approved vaccine and kills roughly one-third of infected patients. Unlike the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, there are limited medical tools available to contain Bundibugyo outbreaks.
The WHO also confirmed two cases and one death in neighbouring Uganda involving travellers from the DRC, though officials described the situation there as stable.
Scientists at University of Oxford are developing a new vaccine candidate based on the same technology used for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. Researchers hope clinical trials could begin within two to three months.
Animal testing is already underway in Oxford, while the Serum Institute of India is expected to mass-produce the vaccine once medical-grade material becomes available.
Another experimental Bundibugyo vaccine is also being developed and could be ready for testing within six to nine months. WHO research adviser Dr Vasee Moorthy described it earlier this week as “the most promising”.
The WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, although officials said it had not reached pandemic status.
Health authorities are also struggling with insecurity and mistrust in the war-ravaged region, where some Ebola cases have been detected in rebel-controlled areas.
Tensions boiled over this week after angry relatives set fire to sections of Rwampara General Hospital near Bunia in Ituri province after health workers refused to release the body of an Ebola victim because of contamination risks.
“They started throwing projectiles at the hospital,” local politician Luc Malembe Malembe told the BBC. “They even set fire to tents that were being used as isolation wards.”
Police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd, while medical workers were later placed under military protection.
Fear continues to spread across affected communities as deaths rise.
“Ebola has tortured us,” a young taxi rider in Rwampara told the BBC. “I am scared because people are dying very fast… we are really afraid.”
Another resident, Fred Kiza, said the fear among locals was understandable given the severity of the outbreak.
