WHO chief visits Ituri as Bundibugyo Ebola confirmed cases nearly double
Ituri residents face an Ebola strain with no approved vaccine or treatment. WHO chief Tedros landed in Bunia today as confirmed cases nearly doubled: 134 confirmed across DRC and Uganda, 906 suspected in DRC. The Bundibugyo strain is now a public health emergency of international
Residents of Ituri province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are facing an Ebola strain for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists. The Bundibugyo virus has now driven confirmed case counts across DRC and Uganda to 134 with 18 deaths, while suspected cases in DRC alone reached 906 with 223 suspected deaths. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus traveled to Bunia, the provincial capital and epicenter of the outbreak, on May 30. Speaking from Bunia he framed the situation as one the country has navigated repeatedly: it is DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak, and the previous sixteen were all brought to an end. Confirmed case numbers have nearly doubled in recent days. WHO has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, signaling that the trajectory of the response is now of global consequence rather than a localized health event. Doctors Without Borders teams are mobilizing in support of containment efforts in Ituri. The Bundibugyo strain is a less-studied member of the Ebola virus family. Unlike the more widely-monitored Zaire strain, no licensed vaccine and no approved therapeutic exists for Bundibugyo. Tedros emphasized that community participation will determine whether transmission can be halted, calling community ownership the decisive factor in ending the outbreak.