The World Health Organisation has warned that the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may already be extending beyond its initial hotspots, with evidence pointing to wider geographic transmission.
WHO representative Anne Ancia said ongoing field investigations suggest the virus is circulating more broadly than initially assessed.
“The more we are investigating this outbreak, the more we realise that it has already disseminated at least a little bit across border and also in other provinces,” she said, according to BBC.
She noted that the epicentre, Ituri province, presents major containment challenges due to population movement and weak security conditions.
She described it as “a very unsecured area with lots of movement of population”, which complicates contact tracing and response efforts.
Ancia also confirmed that infections have been detected in South Kivu province, which is already dealing with prolonged humanitarian pressures.
The outbreak has so far resulted in at least 131 deaths, with growing concern after reports of cross-border spread into neighbouring Uganda, where at least one fatality has been confirmed.
Health authorities in Congo reported more than 513 suspected cases as of Tuesday, suggesting a wider burden than confirmed figures indicate.
The World Health Organisation recently declared the situation a public health emergency of international concern, following consultations with officials in Congo and Uganda.
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The designation reflects the rising risk of regional and cross-border transmission.
However, the organisation clarified that the outbreak has not yet reached the criteria for a full pandemic-level emergency under international health regulations.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said the organisation is increasingly alarmed by the trend of infections.
He stated he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic”.
A separate modelling analysis by the London-based MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis suggests that official statistics may significantly underestimate the real situation.
The researchers described evidence of “substantial” under-detection and warned that total infections could already exceed 1,000.
They further noted that the outbreak appears “larger than currently ascertained” and that its “true magnitude remains uncertain”.
At present, there is no specific vaccine for the strain responsible for the outbreak. The WHO, however, says it is reviewing available treatments to determine whether they could offer partial protection or help limit spread.