Ebola fight in DRC ‘far from over,’ warns WHO chief

The DRC faces a growing Ebola threat as cases soar in North Kivu, despite progress in other regions, says Tedros

Dr. Papy Mafuta, medical director of Katwa hospital, sanitizes as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, September 10, 2026 [File: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters]

Despite “encouraging signs” in the fight against the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), efforts to wipe out the virus in the east of the country are “far from over”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In an online news conference, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists cases were surging in North Kivu province as officials raced to control the spread of “many outbreaks in many places”.

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Tedros said the number of weekly cases had doubled over the past two weeks from 100 to more than 200 cases in North Kivu.

“The area is so vast that it’s hard to speak of a single epidemic,” Tedros added.

Tedros said that transmission was declining in the worst-affected areas of Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, while South Kivu has not reported any new cases since May.

“But make no mistake, the epidemic continues to grow and continues to kill”, Tedros warned.

Battling the outbreak has been complicated by the emergence of a rare strain of Ebola known as the Bundibugyo virus, which has no known cure.

WHO said treatment trials and the development of post-exposure prophylaxis were picking up speed.

More than 3,000 healthcare and front-line workers had already been vaccinated with Merck’s Ervebo, said Meg Doherty, WHO’s director of science, research, evidence and quality for health.

Ervebo ⁠is licensed against Zaire ebolavirus, but its effectiveness against the Bundibugyo strain, driving the current outbreak, is ⁠not known.

More than 7,200 cases and more than 3,500 deaths have been reported across seven provinces since the DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May.

谭德塞表示，尽管其他地区取得了进展，但随着北基伍省病例激增，刚果民主共和国面临日益严重的埃博拉威胁，北基伍省的病例激增使该国面临更大的威胁。

2026年9月10日，卡特瓦医院医疗主任帕皮·马富塔医生正在进行消毒工作，援助机构正在加紧努力遏制刚果民主共和国新一轮埃博拉疫情的爆发。[图片：Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/路透社]

世界卫生组织（世卫组织）表示，尽管刚果民主共和国（刚果（金））抗击埃博拉疫情的斗争出现了“令人鼓舞的迹象”，但该国东部地区根除该病毒的努力“远未结束”。

世界卫生组织总干事谭德塞在一次线上新闻发布会上告诉记者，北基伍省的病例正在激增，官员们正争分夺秒地控制“多地多处疫情”的蔓延。

刚果民主共和国第七省发现的3例埃博拉病例中，第1例列出

刚果民主共和国有史以来最严重的埃博拉疫情，病例数超过7000例（共3条记录中的第2条）

埃博拉疫情蔓延至刚果民主共和国第七个省份（共3个省份），政府坚称病例正在下降（列表3/3）

谭德塞表示，过去两周北基伍省每周新增病例数翻了一番，从 100 例增加到 200 多例。

“该地区幅员辽阔，很难说是一场单一的流行病，”谭德塞补充道。

谭德塞表示，疫情中心伊图里省受影响最严重的地区的病毒传播正在减少，而南基伍省自 5 月以来没有报告任何新病例。

“但毋庸置疑，疫情仍在蔓延，仍在夺走生命”，谭德塞警告说。

由于出现了一种名为邦迪布焦病毒的罕见埃博拉病毒株，抗击疫情变得更加复杂，这种病毒目前尚无已知的治疗方法。

世界卫生组织表示，治疗试验和暴露后预防措施的研发正在加速进行。

世界卫生组织卫生科学、研究、证据和质量主任梅格·多尔蒂表示，已有超过 3000 名医护人员和一线工作人员接种了默克公司的 Ervebo 疫苗。

Ervebo 已获得针对扎伊尔埃博拉病毒的许可，但其对引发当前疫情的 Bundibugyo 毒株的有效性尚不清楚。

自刚果民主共和国5月宣布第17次埃博拉疫情爆发以来，该国七个省份已报告超过7200例病例和超过3500例死亡。