WHO Chief Visits Congo’s Ebola Epicentre as Cases Surge Past 1,000

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus travelled on Saturday to Ituri Province, the region hardest hit by the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, urging residents to seek treatment early and follow safe burial practices.

The outbreak, Congo’s 17th and the third-largest since Ebola was first identified, continues to outpace response efforts. Tedros arrived in Kinshasa on Thursday before visiting Bunia, the capital of Ituri, where the first cases were confirmed earlier this month.

Speaking alongside Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba, Tedros noted that the Bundibugyo strain currently circulating has no approved vaccine or treatment, making early supportive care, including isolation, rehydration and pain management, essential.

He also called for safe burials, warning that the bodies of Ebola victims remain highly infectious. Authorities have reported attacks on health facilities by groups attempting to reclaim bodies for traditional burial rites.

Meanwhile, Brazil announced it is investigating a suspected Ebola case in São Paulo involving a man who recently travelled from Congo. The patient has been isolated in a specialist hospital.

According to Health Minister Kamba, authorities have identified 1,028 suspected Ebola cases, including 225 confirmed infections. The WHO had earlier reported 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths under investigation.