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Ebola outbreak in Congo, WHO: Epidemic risk very high
2026-05-22 17:36:26 / BOTA
The risk of an Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been raised from “high” to “very high.” The alert was issued by the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a briefing during the 79th World Health Assembly.
According to the WHO, the virus is “spreading rapidly.” The risk of global spread remains low, despite the virus now being declared a “global emergency.” 82 cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Congo, with seven confirmed deaths. However, the epidemic is thought to be much more widespread: there are nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths.
The WHO's main concerns at the moment are to limit the spread of the virus beyond the African country's borders as much as possible and to take action within Congo to control the situation.
For this reason, the UN has allocated $60 million, taken from the Central Emergency Response Fund, to accelerate interventions in Kinshasa. This money is in addition to the $23 million already pledged by the United States and additional funds to set up approximately 50 Ebola treatment centers in the most affected regions of Congo and Uganda.
Meanwhile, according to the BBC, scientists at the University of Oxford in Britain are developing a new vaccine that could be used within months to help tackle the Ebola emergency, as the virus has broken out in Congo.
There is no guarantee that the vaccine will be effective, and animal research and human trials will be needed to know if it will be. But scientists say they are working urgently in case the outbreak escalates and their experimental vaccine is needed.
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