The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has already killed 42 people out of 64 confirmed cases.
The outbreak, first declared in early September, has triggered urgent health interventions.
WHO says the risk of further spread remains high within the country, though moderate across the wider region.
Health authorities in the DRC launched a vaccination campaign two weeks ago in response to the resurgence in Kasai Province.
The UN agency and its partners are actively supporting the government-led response.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed on X that “64 people have had Ebola in the DRC, of which 42 have died.”
Ebola, first identified in 1976, is a viral disease believed to have originated from bats. It spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, often leading to severe bleeding, organ failure, and death.
The Zaire strain of the virus, for which a vaccine exists, is behind the current outbreak.
To strengthen response efforts, the International Coordination Group on Vaccine Supply (IGC) has approved the shipment of 45,000 additional vaccine doses to the DRC.
WHO noted several challenges fueling the outbreak, including insufficient protective equipment, poor contact tracing, late detection, unsafe burial practices, and reliance on traditional healers.
The agency added that high population mobility in the country of over 100 million people has worsened the risk.
Over the last 50 years, Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa.
The deadliest outbreak in the DRC occurred between 2018 and 2020, leaving nearly 2,300 dead.
WHO estimates the mortality rate in the current outbreak at 45.7 percent, a figure that falls within the 25–90 percent range seen in past epidemics.