The World Health Organization (WHO) has deployed its experts to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasai province in collaboration with the national Rapid Response Team. The joint effort focuses on strengthening disease surveillance, patient care, and infection-control measures in health facilities. WHO is also supplying protective equipment, mobile laboratory tools, and essential medical materials.
Congo retains a reserve of Ebola treatments and the Ervebo vaccine. “We had pre-positioned 2,000 doses of the Ebola vaccine in Kinshasa, which are now being released to vaccinate contacts and health workers,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
This is the country’s 16th recorded Ebola outbreak. Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba reported a case-fatality rate of 53.6%, underscoring the seriousness of the situation. The confirmed case involves a 34-year-old pregnant woman in Boulapé, southern Kasai. Investigations into suspected cases are ongoing. So far, 28 suspected infections and 15 deaths have been recorded, including four health workers. Fourteen deaths occurred in Boulapé and one in Mweka.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is confronting its 16th Ebola outbreak, and early signs point to a serious challenge. WHO has rushed experts and supplies to Kasai province, working alongside the country’s Rapid Response Team to tighten surveillance and infection-control practices in fragile health facilities. Personal protective equipment, mobile labs, and medicines are being deployed to frontline workers.
Congo’s preparedness—stockpiles of treatments and 2,000 pre-positioned doses of the Ervebo vaccine—offers a rare advantage. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the doses are being released immediately for contacts and health staff, a move likely to speed containment.
Yet the figures are troubling. Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba reports a 53.6% fatality rate, unusually high even for Ebola. The first confirmed patient, a 34-year-old pregnant woman from Boulapé, represents the tip of an expanding investigation. As of now, 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths—including four health workers—have been logged in Boulapé and nearby Mweka. The involvement of multiple locations and infections among staff highlight how quickly the virus could spread if response efforts falter.
