MSF Warns of Expanding Ebola Crisis in DRC

Doctors Without Borders has cautioned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is not slowing down, despite recent reports suggesting a decrease in transmission in certain areas. The organization emphasized that the virus is actively moving into new regions rather than shrinking, challenging the narrative of containment that has emerged in recent days.

According to MSF, the situation remains critical as the disease spreads to provinces with weaker health systems. The warning comes shortly after government officials and the World Health Organization noted signs of slowing transmission in the initial epicenter, which had led to a more optimistic tone in some earlier coverage of the crisis.

Expansion into new provinces

Anthony Kergosien, the emergency coordinator for MSF in the DRC, stated that assuming the outbreak is under control because some treatment centers are admitting fewer patients would be a mistake. He highlighted that while the spread in Ituri province has slowed, the number of new cases nationally has not decreased.

The organization reported that South Ubangi has become the seventh affected province, while North Kivu now accounts for nearly half of all newly confirmed cases. Kergosien noted that test positivity is rising sharply in recent days, indicating that undetected chains of transmission have already taken hold in the worst-hit areas.

Challenges in hard-to-reach areas

The 2026 outbreak is the largest in the DRC's history and the fastest-spreading on record. According to WHO figures, the virus has killed more than 3,500 people from over 7,200 confirmed cases since mid-May. Many of these cases are concentrated in the north and east of the country, regions long plagued by instability and poor health infrastructure.

MSF attributes the rapid spread to several factors, including medical staff strikes and deeply held funeral traditions that pose a risk of post-mortem transmission. Additionally, the outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, against which existing treatments and vaccines were untested and of uncertain value.

Risk of weakened response capacity

The spread of the outbreak into new areas with even weaker preparedness and response capacities poses a serious risk, according to Kergosien. The organization has approximately 1,700 staff in the DRC, most of them Congolese, working to manage the crisis. The situation underscores the difficulty of controlling a disease in regions with limited resources and ongoing conflict.

As the outbreak continues to evolve, the focus shifts to how well these new regions can respond. The next few weeks will be critical in determining whether the virus can be contained or if it will continue to spread to other parts of the country, potentially overwhelming the limited health infrastructure available.