The outbreak of the deadly Bundibugyo species of Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is expanding, while the push to accelerate testing and identify effective treatment options continues, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, health authorities report more than 1,560 confirmed Ebola cases across Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, with Ituri remaining the epicenter of the outbreak.
The outbreak’s “true scale has not yet been fully established […] we would like to say it is stabilizing, but frankly, we cannot say it yet”, said Anne Ancia, WHO representative to DRC.
Speaking from Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, Ancia told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that, as of Saturday, the government had recorded 1,561 confirmed cases, including 506 deaths, with 254 patients having recovered.
She added that more than 10,000 contacts were being monitored, with an overall follow-up rate of 82 percent. Treatment centers have been set up, providing around 700 beds across 22 facilities, and efforts are underway to add a further 300 beds.
In support of the government-led response WHO is strengthening its understanding of the history of every case of infection “so that we can really understand the chain of transmission” and isolate every contact case, Ancia said.
Highlighting the challenges, the WHO representative said that treatment centers are "at saturation point."
“I visited treatment centers in and around Bunia, Beni, Butembo, Katwa, and I met frontline workers responsible for patient care, contact tracing, investigating alerts, and sensitizing and mobilizing communities,” Ancia said.
“I witnessed firsthand the dedication of staff who continue to serve their communities despite enormous challenges,” she added.
“I really wish to salute the engagement of each and every one involved in this response.”
The current outbreak was declared on May 15 and has unfolded in areas marked by active conflict, displacement, and overburdened health services.
“Today, we do not have enough ambulances,” Ancia said, warning that all the needs in Ituri Province cannot be met.
Encouraging developments include the progress made on testing, as daily capacity has increased from 30 tests in Kinshasa to more than 2,000, “thanks to 10 decentralized laboratories established in the affected provinces”, the WHO representative explained, with the most recent lab opening in Bunia.
Another positive step is the July 2 start of a clinical trial to identify effective treatment options, as there is no approved, proven cure for Bundibugyo virus disease.
“The trial will evaluate two promising therapies, a monoclonal antibody, MBP134, and the antiviral remdesivir,” Ancia said.
“These drugs will be administered alone or in combination to assess their potential to improve survival among people with the Bundibugyo virus disease.”
More than 1,200 treatment doses are available and additional therapies can be incorporated into the trial as new evidence emerges.
Meanwhile, the security situation in eastern DRC remains highly unstable amid violent clashes in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces.
In late June, James Swan, head of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC known as MONUSCO, told the UN Security Council that heavy fighting continued between the Alliance Fleuve Congo/23 March Movement (AFC/M23), supported by Rwandan forces, and the Congolese Army (FARDC), which is allied with the Wazalendo armed group.
When asked about the M23 armed group's reported claim that Ebola had been eradicated in areas under their control, Ancia confirmed receiving information indicating there were no more cases in those zones and that “all contact cases had been released.”
In the parts of North Kivu controlled by the de facto authorities, “we are working to strengthen community surveillance to make sure that there are no more cases,” she said, as a high number of alerts are coming through “every day” from labs in the field, and are being followed up.
“For now, indeed, we do not have reports of confirmed cases” in the area, she said.
The ongoing conflict between the M23 and the Congolese armed forces has recently intensified in South Kivu.
OCHA: Thousands are fleeing clashes in South Kivu
On Monday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that escalating violence in South Kivu is causing new displacements and severely restricting humanitarian access.
Since Saturday, heavy clashes — including reported drone attacks — in the Fizi, Mwenga, and Uvira territories have reportedly killed at least five civilians and injured dozens more. The fighting has disrupted supply routes, leading to critical shortages of medical supplies needed to treat the injured.
According to OCHA, the violence has also triggered major displacement of civilians. At least 6,000 people have fled to Kipupu and Malanda in the Mwenga territory, and efforts to verify further displacement continue. The renewed fighting is delaying planned humanitarian assessments in areas already hosting over 200,000 displaced people.
Health authorities have confirmed at least two Ebola cases at the Kigonze displacement site, which houses approximately 15,000 people displaced by conflict, in the town of Bunia. An Ebola treatment center is currently being established at the site, and a program providing free healthcare to displaced people was launched on Friday.
OCHA warned on Friday that poor water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions in displacement sites are a particular concern, as there have been confirmed Ebola cases in at least four displacement sites in Ituri.
Response activities are ongoing, but humanitarian organizations warn that funding shortfalls are limiting their work across displacement sites in Ituri, where more than 273,000 displaced people are in need of assistance. This year's humanitarian appeal for the DRC has received just under 54 percent of the US$1.4 billion required, with $752 million being received.
OCHA once again called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law, to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to guarantee safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access to everyone in need.
Aid agencies are responding to the health emergency as well as the broader humanitarian crisis.
Ebola continues to spread amid mass displacement and worsening hunger
The expanding Ebola outbreak is unfolding against a backdrop of escalating violence and mass displacement in eastern Congo. This situation puts civilians at further risk and complicates efforts to contain the disease. This health emergency comes amid an already severe humanitarian crisis.
Nearly 15 million people in DRV need humanitarian assistance this year. More than half of the country's displaced people — 3.4 million — are living in areas affected by the outbreak, further complicating response efforts.
The humanitarian crisis in DR Congo is one of the world's longest-running and most neglected emergencies. Ongoing armed conflict continues to drive the crisis, and the country's human rights and humanitarian situation has steadily deteriorated for years, prompting repeated warnings from the United Nations.
The eastern provinces, particularly Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, have experienced decades of violence as non-state armed groups compete for control of the region’s natural resources. Last year, escalating hostilities spread further across the region, triggering widespread displacement, continuous population movement, and heightened protection risks for civilians.
Across the country, the need for humanitarian assistance remains substantial. Millions of people have been internally displaced and have lost their homes, farmland, livestock, and sources of income. Meanwhile, persistently high food prices, disrupted supply chains, and frequent outbreaks of other diseases such as cholera, measles, and mpox are pushing vulnerable communities closer to collapse.
The country is facing one of the world’s largest and most severe hunger crises, primarily due to conflict in the eastern provinces and large-scale displacement. According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, over 26.5 million people — nearly one out of every four Congolese — are struggling to meet their basic food needs.
The latest IPC update revealed that over 3.6 million children, women, and men are currently experiencing emergency-level food insecurity (IPC Phase 4), which indicates critical food shortages that jeopardize their survival without immediate humanitarian assistance. This is the currently largest number of people facing Phase 4 conditions globally.