KINSHASA — Health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and international health agencies expressed growing concern on Wednesday over the expanding Ebola outbreak in the country’s east, where confirmed cases have continued to rise and response efforts have been complicated by insecurity, supply shortages and public mistrust, according to government and World Health Organization (WHO) reports.
The Congolese government said on Tuesday that confirmed Ebola cases had increased to nearly 600, with more than 100 deaths recorded since the outbreak was officially declared in May. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a rare variant for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment, according to the WHO.
The outbreak is concentrated in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, areas that have also faced armed violence and humanitarian challenges. Congolese authorities acknowledged that the virus had circulated for weeks before it was formally identified, allowing transmission chains to expand across multiple health zones.
The WHO said the outbreak continues to evolve rapidly, with increasing case numbers and geographic spread. As of June 6, the agency reported more than 500 confirmed cases and over 90 confirmed deaths in Congo, while neighboring Uganda had reported imported and linked cases connected to the Congolese outbreak.
“The outbreak remains concentrated in Ituri Province,” the WHO said in an update this week, while warning that operational challenges and security incidents were disrupting surveillance and response activities.
Health officials said shortages of protective equipment have heightened risks for frontline medical workers. Aid organizations reported dwindling supplies of masks, boots, disinfectants and other protective materials in some affected areas. Reuters reported that dozens of healthcare workers have been infected during the outbreak, with several deaths recorded among medical staff.
The WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention last week launched a six-month response plan seeking more than $500 million in funding to support containment efforts in Congo and neighboring countries. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said sustained financing, political commitment and community engagement would be critical to controlling the outbreak.
Public health experts have also cited community mistrust as a major obstacle. Officials said attacks on health facilities and resistance to response measures have hampered contact tracing and case monitoring in some communities.
The WHO currently assesses the risk within the Democratic Republic of the Congo as very high because of ongoing transmission and the expansion of cases into new areas, while the global risk remains lower. Response teams continue surveillance, treatment, contact tracing and cross-border preparedness efforts as authorities seek to contain the outbreak.
