Red Cross warns Ebola outbreak in DRC not yet peaked, could last a year as G7 urges coordinated response

The outbreak trajectory

The epidemic, first declared on 15 May, has already become the largest recorded outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain. The World Health Organization lists 808 confirmed cases and 192 deaths, a fatality rate of 24%, but Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam have warned those figures probably capture only part of the reality. “No one knows the true scale or exactly where the disease is spreading,” said Kate White, MSF’s emergency medical coordinator.

We are afraid that this could last one year, to end this disease. The peak is, I think, not behind us, but in front of us.

Trust and culture on the ground

Red Cross teams conducting safe burials have faced verbal abuse, threats and even physical attacks in recent days, driven by mistrust and cultural tensions. Some communities believe the disease is invented to attract foreign money, while others see protective burial protocols as an attack on tradition. The IFRC has started using body bags with a clear plastic panel so relatives can see the deceased’s face. “Building trust takes time. It requires honesty, patience, and humility, but in this outbreak it is not optional; it is life-saving,” Michon said.

Diagnostic gaps and data fog

The lack of testing capacity is a critical weakness. Michon described a “cruel shortage of diagnostic capability” that makes it very hard to know how far the epidemic is spreading. A Congolese public health official told Reuters that data from laboratories, treatment centres and surveillance teams are extremely difficult to harmonise, causing inaccuracies in both directions: some patients are counted more than once while others die unreported in communities. The official also said the virus was likely circulating as early as February.

International response

G7 leaders meeting in Évian, France, issued a statement calling for “decisive” and “coordinated” action, citing risks to health security from outbreaks in both the DRC and neighbouring Uganda, where 19 cases and two deaths have been confirmed. Germany pledged an additional €13 million, with €9 million going directly to the DRC and local organisations and €4 million to the WHO.

Regional instability

The three affected provinces – Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu – are home to an estimated 15 million people and are scarred by deadly communal conflict and large-scale displacement. The International Committee of the Red Cross noted that war-wounded admissions in eastern DRC rose 30% between mid‑May and mid‑June, compounding strain on an already fragile health system.