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Health workers simulate evacuation protocols using a manikin for deceased victims of Ebola during a training by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County, on July 10, 2026. [AFP]
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could be significantly larger than official figures indicate, with the World Health Organisation warning that many infections are still escaping detection as transmission continues in communities.
WHO Emergencies Director Chikwe Ihekweazu said new modelling suggests the true scale of the outbreak may be to four times higher than the confirmed case count because a large proportion of infections are occurring outside known chains of transmission.
"Between 70 and 80 per cent of new cases today are still coming from outside of contact lists in the Bunia area," Ihekweazu said.
