The latest official tally recorded 5,514 confirmed cases and 2,642 deaths, putting the case fatality rate at 47.9 percent. A total of 1,200 patients have recovered. The outbreak has now spread to Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele and Tshopo provinces.
A Defining Moment
The WHO said the epidemic has reached a "defining moment" more than 100 days after it was declared. "The choices we make now will determine how quickly we can bring this outbreak under control, protect and save lives," said WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi.
Ituri remains the epicentre, accounting for about 85 percent of all cases and 79 percent of deaths.
Unprecedented Speed of Spread
Wessam Mankoula, operations manager for the Ebola response at Africa CDC, described the severity of the situation: "The outbreak is rapidly spreading, gaining more space. It is now the fastest growing Ebola outbreak that we have ever seen, and the second largest Ebola outbreak in history."
The affected provinces are larger than 36 member states in Africa and have a population greater than 38 countries on the continent. Compared to the largest Ebola outbreak in West Africa, this outbreak is 9.7 times the number of cases and 7.1 times the number of deaths reported during the first 13 weeks.
Community Deaths and Response Challenges
Deaths occurring outside Ebola treatment centres remain a major concern. The WHO said community deaths accounted for around 60 percent of fatalities recorded in recent weeks, pointing to persistent problems with early detection, referral and access to treatment.
Insecurity, recurrent conflict, population displacement, attacks on health facilities, community reluctance and difficult access continue to hamper operations, particularly in eastern DRC.
Progress in Response Capacity
Despite the challenges, response capacity has expanded significantly since the outbreak began. The number of laboratories capable of testing for Ebola has risen from one to 19, with capacity to process more than 3,000 samples a day, while treatment capacity has grown from fewer than 10 beds to more than 1,300.
Clinical trials of potential treatments and evaluations of candidate vaccines are underway. The WHO said the first emergency-listed molecular diagnostic test for Bundibugyo virus disease has been deployed.
High Risk of Regional Spread
Africa CDC officials highlighted that intense cross-border mobility among communities in the affected areas poses a high risk of regional spread, as these areas are closer to the DRC's borders with Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
Eleven other African countries have been designated as high-risk: South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Zambia, the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Somalia.
Call for Global Solidarity
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised that the outbreak can be brought under control "but only through scaled-up action in affected communities," calling for sustained resources and stronger cooperation among national and local authorities, affected communities and international partners.
The agency warned that the coming months would be critical to closing remaining gaps and slowing transmission, saying an end to fighting in affected areas was also essential for health teams to reach communities.
With reporting from Xinhua, VOV World, Lokmat Times and NDTV.
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