By Taibat Ummi Yakubu 

 The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, says Ebola infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have increased to 344 confirmed cases, with 60 deaths recorded since the outbreak began.

Ghebreyesus disclosed this during a news conference on Wednesday after returning from Ituri Province, the epicentre of the outbreak, where he met political leaders, frontline health workers and community groups involved in response efforts.

He said progress had been made in reducing the backlog of suspected Ebola cases, which had dropped from more than 1,000 to 116, owing to improved laboratory testing capacity across affected areas.

According to him, WHO's latest assessment places the risk level as very high nationally, high regionally and low globally, despite ongoing efforts to contain transmission and strengthen disease surveillance.

The WHO chief noted that confirmed cases had been reported in 24 health zones across Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, highlighting the scale of the outbreak and the challenges confronting response teams.

He said treatment capacity had expanded significantly, with three treatment centres providing 80 beds now operational in Bunia, alongside additional facilities in Mongbwalu, Rwampara, Beni, Goma and Bukavu.

“Six people have recovered in the DRC and two in Uganda, but contact tracing remains below target at 45 per cent, compared to the 90 per cent required to effectively interrupt transmission,” Ghebreyesus said.

He revealed that the outbreak had spread beyond the DRC's borders, with Uganda recording 15 confirmed cases and one death, including a Congolese resident who travelled through the United Arab Emirates.

According to him, a U.S. citizen infected in the DRC is currently receiving treatment in Germany, while WHO continues to coordinate with authorities in Uganda and the UAE on contact tracing and exposure-risk assessments.

Ghebreyesus identified five major challenges hampering response efforts, including delays in testing, low contact-tracing rates, travel restrictions affecting supply chains, community mistrust and the absence of approved vaccines or therapeutics.

“To address testing delays, WHO is decentralising laboratory services to Mongbwalu, Beni, Aru, Nyakunde and Tchomia.

“Only 45 per cent of contacts are currently being monitored in the DRC due to insecurity and population displacement.

“Blanket travel restrictions are disrupting critical supply chains, despite WHO's recommendation for exit screening as a more effective measure.

“Community mistrust also remains a major obstacle, with some local leaders still questioning the existence of Ebola. Building trust has become a central pillar of the response,” he said.

The WHO Director-General added that the organisation had activated its Medical Countermeasures Network to accelerate the development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.

He stressed that strong leadership, community ownership and public trust remained essential to ending the outbreak.

“Our ultimate measure of success is not simply stopping this outbreak. We will stop it.

“The DRC has successfully contained 16 previous Ebola outbreaks.

“The real test is what we do to prevent future outbreaks. If communities survive Ebola only to succumb to malaria, malnutrition or other diseases, then we have not truly helped them,” Ghebreyesus said.

He reaffirmed WHO's commitment to supporting the DRC beyond the current crisis by helping to strengthen health systems and humanitarian services under government leadership.