Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are grappling with a resurgent Ebola outbreak in the central Kasai province that has already claimed 42 lives out of 64 confirmed cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, the government launched a vaccination campaign targeting the highly lethal Zaire strain of the virus, which has a known vaccine.
The WHO estimates the outbreak carries a high risk of further spread nationally but only a moderate risk for neighboring countries.
“The outbreak is fueled by gaps in protective equipment, delayed detection, incomplete contact tracing and unsafe burial practices,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
He noted that widespread reliance on traditional healers and high population mobility in the country of over 100 million people further heightens the risk.
Ebola, first identified in 1976 and thought to have crossed to humans from bats, is a viral hemorrhagic fever spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, causing severe bleeding and organ failure.
Mortality for this outbreak is estimated at 45.7%, compared with 25%-90% in prior outbreaks.
The DRC’s deadliest Ebola crisis, from 2018 to 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people.
The International Coordination Group on Vaccine Supply has approved shipment of 45,000 additional vaccine doses to aid the DRC response, with WHO and partners supporting government-led containment efforts.
The Ebola outbreak is unfolding amid a broader health emergency across Africa.
Cholera alone has claimed more than 4,200 lives in 2025, with more than 190,000 reported cases across 23 countries.
Patrick Abok, acting regional emergencies director at WHO Africa, highlighted ongoing challenges from cholera, mpox, measles and other diseases straining fragile health systems.
“Access to safe water and hygiene facilities remains inadequate,” Abok said during a virtual briefing from Angola. “Cholera continues to pose a serious public health risk in countries already facing humanitarian crises.”
Cholera, driven by contaminated water and climate-related flooding, has particularly impacted Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and the DRC.
WHO efforts have included supporting treatment centers, providing medical supplies and administering more than 15 million cholera vaccine doses this year.
