World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivers a speech at the opening of the 79th World Health Organization (WHO) assembly in Geneva, on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
The countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo are at high risk from Ebola and should act immediately to counter the virus, the World Health Organisation’s head said on Monday.
“Countries bordering DRC are at especially high risk and should take immediate action,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that he would travel on Tuesday to the DRC, the epicentre of the current outbreak of the deadly disease.
“The outbreak is spreading rapidly,” Tedros told a virtual ministerial meeting on the viral haemorrhagic fever, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It can cause severe bleeding and organ failure.
He said the current outbreak was “especially challenging”.
