Ebola outbreak on track to be deadliest ever, WHO chief says

The current outbreak of Ebola in the DR Congo is on track to surpass the deadliest outbreak of the disease ever, the director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that the 2026 outbreak, "at its current pace", would "eclipse" that of the 2014-2016 occurrence, which killed at least 11,000 people.

The outbreak this year, declared on 15 May, has seen at least 4,300 cases and caused more than 2,000 deaths.

The WHO said on Wednesday it hoped to reverse the spread of the disease within three months but warned that this meant bringing transmission under control - not ending the outbreak entirely.

The epidemic was only officially declared in May, but it is believed the outbreak began at least three months before then, health officials said this week.

"We are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us," WHO Africa director Dr Mohamed Janabi said at a news conference in the city of Bunia, near the centre of the outbreak.

He cited research showing that the virus started spreading in February and was initially misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid.

The 2026 outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has previously caused only two known outbreaks - in 2007 and 2012.