The WHO director-general reported 220 suspected deaths in the current Ebola outbreak and warned that delayed detection has left responders "playing catch-up." WHO has declared the rare Bundibugyo strain a public health emergency. Uganda added two confirmed cases, bringing its total to seven. Tedros will visit the DRC as insecurity in Ituri and North Kivu and the lack of approved vaccines complicate containment efforts.
WHO: 220 Suspected Ebola Deaths — 'Epidemic Is Outpacing Us', Tedros Warns
FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends an ACANU briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the current Ebola outbreak has resulted in 220 suspected deaths and that delays in detecting cases have left response teams "playing catch-up."
"We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us," Tedros said, urging countries bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo — the outbreak's epicentre — to take immediate action.
Earlier on Monday, Uganda reported two additional confirmed Ebola cases, bringing its total to seven. The WHO has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain a public health emergency of international concern.
Complicating Factors
Tedros said he will travel to the DRC on Tuesday to assess the response on the ground. Containment efforts are complicated by high insecurity in Ituri and North Kivu provinces and by the absence of any approved vaccines for the Bundibugyo virus.
WHO and partner agencies are scaling up surveillance, contact tracing, case detection and infection-control measures, but officials warned that rapid international support and enhanced cross-border surveillance are urgently needed to slow transmission.
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