Ebola cases top 10,000 in DR Congo as contact tracing falters

The Democratic Republic of Congo's Health Ministry announced Tuesday that confirmed Ebola cases have reached 10,060 with 4,887 deaths since May, marking the second-largest recorded epidemic as detection gaps allow transmission to persist.

Officials stated that merely 12 percent of confirmed cases emerged among previously identified contacts, indicating extensive undetected transmission chains throughout Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele, Tshopo, South-Ubangi and North Ubangi provinces. The fatality rate stands at 48.6 percent for the Bundibugyo virus strain, which has now affected 66 health zones across the vast Central African nation.

WHO warns of persistent transmission risks

The World Health Organization's Africa office emphasized that sustained efforts remain essential to contain the outbreak, warning that 75.8 percent of affected health zones reported new infections within the past 21 days. "This requires continued scale-up of key control measures, greater access to affected areas, and community outreach that builds trust and encourages people to engage with the response," the agency said on social media platform X, noting that cross-border spread has already reached Uganda, France, Kenya and Nigeria.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to convene a virtual meeting of Health Ministers on Wednesday to coordinate regional response efforts and accelerate support to affected areas. The session aims to strengthen border surveillance and reinforce preparedness throughout the continent as the outbreak continues into its seventh month.