WHO notes progress in Congo Ebola response but warns of surge in eastern region

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared on September 16, 2026, that containment initiatives targeting the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are demonstrating promising momentum, with transmission rates declining across sections of Ituri province—yet authorities emphasize the outbreak remains substantially uncontrolled.

“We are starting to see encouraging signs that we’re gaining ground,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva.

The DRC has documented over 7,000 confirmed Ebola cases spanning seven provinces throughout this ongoing epidemic.

The outbreak stems from the uncommon Bundibugyo virus, which presents distinctive intervention obstacles.

While transmission is decelerating in the outbreak's core region within Ituri province and South Kivu has experienced zero new cases since May, health organizations remain apprehensive regarding extensive population movement and intensifying complications in adjacent regions such as North Kivu.

Beyond 3,000 healthcare and frontline personnel have been administered Merck's Ervebo vaccine through deployment frameworks coordinated by the World Health Organization.

Observational investigations and intermediate-to-advanced clinical trials conducted by the National Institute of Biomedical Research are assessing vaccine effectiveness against the Bundibugyo strain, encompassing formulations from Moderna and the University of Oxford.

The World Health Organization initially recognized Ebola in 1976, emerging during two concurrent outbreaks: one in Nzara, Sudan (presently South Sudan), and another in Yambuku, Zaire (presently the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC).

The illness derives its designation from the Ebola River, situated near the Yambuku settlement in the DRC.

Though uncommon, Ebola outbreaks have collectively impacted approximately 35,000 to 40,000+ verified instances worldwide since 1976, predominantly concentrated throughout sub-Saharan Africa.