Ebola Suspected Cases Surge Past 900 in Eastern DR Congo as Conflict Hinders Response

However, the ongoing fighting between government troops and rebel groups has repeatedly displaced populations. The WHO estimates that approximately 100,000 people were displaced in the past month alone, forcing contacts of infected persons into overcrowded refugee camps where distancing is impossible.

Tedros visited Ituri province, the center of the outbreak, and called on the conflicting parties in Bunia to lay down their weapons at least temporarily. "We cannot help as long as helpers must fear for their safety and their lives," he said. "A ceasefire, even a short one, would save lives."

Rising Case Numbers and a Glimmer of Hope

New suspected cases have been reported from both Congo-Kinshasa and neighboring Uganda. The African Union health authority has registered 1,077 suspected cases, including 246 deaths, while the WHO last reported 223 suspected deaths since the beginning of the latest outbreak, with 10 deaths confirmed.

The WHO estimates the actual extent of the outbreak is larger than confirmed figures suggest. On Wednesday, the organization reported the first recovery case after a confirmed Ebola infection in the country, with WHO specialist Anaïs Legand stating that a patient had recovered and left the hospital after two negative tests.

Tedros appealed to the international community to significantly expand financial support for the Ebola response. He posted on X: "Together we will overcome this outbreak."

International Response and Mounting Humanitarian Crisis

The WHO is working with partners to accelerate clinical studies on possible vaccines and therapies against the Bundibugyo strain. Its scientific advisory bodies have recommended studies on several promising products, though it will take several more months until possible treatments become available.

UNICEF reported that 100 tons of relief supplies from the European Union arrived in Bunia, including protective equipment for medical personnel, medicines, and hygiene items intended to benefit approximately 100,000 people.

Welthungerhilfe warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, where approximately ten million people are affected by armed conflicts, displacement, and severely restricted access to humanitarian aid. Ursula Langkamp, Welthungerhilfe country director in the DRC, said: "The people in eastern Congo have not had peace for years — first hunger, war and displacement, and now also Ebola. The dangerous Ebola outbreak is escalating the situation."

The United States has imposed entry restrictions on people from the affected countries, though the WHO does not support travel bans, stating they are not very effective. The organization intends to cooperate closely with authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring Uganda.