Congo's Ebola Outbreak 'Had a Big Head Start,' WHO Says

The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo had a significant head start and that efforts to contain it are still lagging, though progress is being made. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, "We are catching up," as testing capabilities improve.

Congolese authorities report 344 confirmed cases, including 60 deaths, of the rare Bundibugyo type of Ebola since the outbreak was declared in mid-May in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu. The number of suspected cases has decreased from 906 to 116.

Neighboring Uganda has confirmed 15 cases, including one death, according to its health ministry. Tedros avoided commenting on a U.S.

quarantine center in Kenya that has sparked protests, saying countries can act based on their own risk assessments. Experts believe the virus spread for weeks in one of the world's most vulnerable regions before lab tests confirmed it.

Resources, including protective gear, have been rushed to the area, but there is no approved medicine or vaccine for this Ebola strain. At least five people have recovered, offering rare signs of hope.

Doctors Without Borders cautioned that the true extent of the outbreak remains difficult to assess due to limited testing capacity and access challenges. A potential vaccine could take months to reach the region.

Dr. Aruna Abedi, a Congolese epidemiologist, noted the difficulty of quickly deploying an effective vaccine that meets scientific protocols.

While laboratory and diagnostic resources are improving, contact tracing in Congo is still behind, with only about 45% of contacts followed up. Tedros emphasized that this number needs to exceed 90% to get ahead of the outbreak.

Insecurity, displacement, and mobile populations complicate contact tracing. Armed groups active in the region include the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which seized key cities over a year ago, and the Islamic State-allied Allied Democratic Forces operating along the Congo-Uganda border.

Years of insecurity have created a large, vulnerable displaced population. Wary residents have attacked health centers, sometimes demanding the bodies of loved ones, and health workers battle mistaken beliefs that Ebola is not real, deterring some from seeking care.