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The current outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on track to surpass the deadliest outbreak of the disease ever, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. <\/b><\/p>\n
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that the 2026 outbreak, “at its current pace”, would “eclipse” that of the 2014-2016 occurrence, which killed at least 11,000 people.<\/p>\n
The outbreak this year, declared on 15 May, has seen at least 4,300 cases and caused more than 2,000 deaths. <\/p>\n
The WHO said on Wednesday it hoped to reverse the spread of the disease within three months but warned that this meant bringing transmission under control – not ending the outbreak entirely.<\/p>\n
The epidemic was only officially declared in May, but it is believed the outbreak began at least three months before then, health officials said this week.<\/p>\n
“We are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us,” WHO Africa director Dr Mohamed Janabi said at a news conference in the city of Bunia, near the centre of the outbreak. <\/p>\n
He cited research showing that the virus started spreading in February and was initially misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid.<\/p>\n
The 2026 outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has previously caused only two known outbreaks – in 2007 and 2012.<\/p>\n
No approved vaccine or recognised therapeutic drugs can treat this species of the virus.<\/p>\n
Ongoing regional instability near the location of the outbreak, in the east of DR Congo, has added to challenges in controlling the spread of the disease. As a result, health workers are only reaching about 30% of cases, according to Janabi.<\/p>\n
Ebola is a rare but deadly viral disease, with symptoms appearing within two to 21 days of infection.<\/p>\n
Symptoms similar to the flu or malaria, including fever, headache and tiredness, can begin suddenly. As the disease progresses, vomiting and diarrhoea can develop, leading to organ failure. <\/p>\n
The virus spreads from one person to another by contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.<\/p>\n
The UK’s medicines regulator, the MHRA, has given permission for the first human trials of a vaccine for Bundibugyo to go ahead.<\/p>\n
The jab is being created by a team from the University of Oxford based on the same technology used in the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. Three other groups are also developing different vaccines for Bundibugyo although they have not yet entered clinical trials.<\/p>\n
The WHO is also sponsoring a separate clinical trial in DR Congo to see whether two existing antiviral therapies can improve survival rates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n