The World Health Organisation (WHO) has ramped up efforts aimed at containing the impact of the Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo.

The three-month intervention measures intend to increase capacity for surveillance, contact tracing and treatment.

According to the WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, contact tracing poses a major operational challenge towards bringing the transmission of the Ebola scourge under control.

The WHO Director General noted that the organisation is working towards tripling Ebola treatment capacity to 3000 within 12 weeks.

Tedros further said that WHO intends to increase the capacity of monitored contacts from the current 80% to 95%.

WHO head of emergency response Abdirahman Mahamud indicated that implementing the measures across regions that have recorded a surge in the number of Ebola cases could drastically reverse the trajectory to lower levels within a short period.

While the measures outlined by WHO aim to contain the spread of Ebola in the DR Congo, the organisation has emphasised that epidemiological monitoring and consistent surveillance mechanisms should be sustained to avoid a resurgence.

WHO declared the Ebola scourge a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May 2026 following an explosion of Ebola cases in the DR Congo’s northeastern province of Ituri.

The outbreak has so far posed a serious health threat to both Healthcare providers and residents across affected areas in the DR Congo.

For decades now, the Ebola virus has been a major health threat not only in the DR Congo but also in other parts of Africa, including Uganda.

While health experts report that treatment and vaccines are available for common Ebola strains like Zaire ebolavirus, the treatment may not work for certain strains of Ebola.

This is because the virus exists in different species, meaning medication is heavily dependent on the type of strain.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ebola species such as Bundibugyo or Sudan viruses can not be protected against through the existing vaccines.

As Clinical trials for vaccines that can protect against new strains of Ebola viruses are still underway, the question is how soon such vaccines can be made available to curb the serious health risk it poses to humankind.