Overview
- The outbreak has grown rapidly in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and now exceeds roughly 1,100 confirmed infections with more than 300 deaths as of late June, overwhelming treatment centers in Ituri and neighbouring provinces.
- The virus has crossed borders with about 20 confirmed cases in Uganda and a confirmed imported case in France involving an ALIMA health worker who was isolated on return.
- WHO modelers published projections calibrated to confirmed case counts on June 22 that estimate a 69.3 percent chance of at least one importation to South Sudan within 12 weeks and project thousands of cases by September if transmission is sustained.
- Response capacity is strained because many diagnostics were tuned to the Zaire strain and missed early Bundibugyo cases, there is no strain-specific licensed vaccine or approved therapy, and frontline gaps include infected health workers, limited contact tracing and unsafe burials.
- Aid groups and CEPI are fast-tracking trials and urging scaled testing, isolation and cross-border surveillance, but new vaccines or targeted treatments remain weeks to months away and displaced communities face heightened risk of further spread.