Following a critical emergency committee review on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) has formally upgraded its national risk assessment for the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo from high to “very high.”

While the UN health agency maintained the regional risk level at “high” and the global threat level at “low,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the domestic situation as “deeply worrisome” and spreading rapidly.

The statistical footprint of the epidemic has grown exponentially within a brief window, heavily fueled by the fact that the virus circulated under the radar for weeks. The confirmed caseload has climbed to 82 infections with seven laboratory-verified fatalities. However, health officials emphasize that these numbers represent only a small fraction of the true crisis. The official tally now includes nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths across the region. Because the outbreak is driven by the less common Bundibugyo strain, which bypassed initial diagnostic kits configured for the Zaire variant, emergency responders are working aggressively to catch up with established transmission chains.

The containment mission faces severe bottlenecks due to a breakdown in community trust and active resistance against outside authorities. In a significant escalation outside the provincial capital of Bunia, an angry crowd set fire to emergency tents and medical equipment at a newly established Ebola treatment center in Rwampara. The riot was sparked by strict infection control protocols that prevented family members from retrieving the body of a local man who had died at the facility. Because the bodies of Ebola victims remain highly contagious, safe and dignified burial practices are mandatory to halt transmission, but these clinical mandates continue to clash with traditional funeral rites and fuel severe local hostility.

To counter the crisis, the United Nations has initiated an intensive mobilization effort, with the UN relief chief allocating up to 60 million dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the DRC and neighboring countries. The WHO has deployed 22 high-level international specialists to the field, while the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) has established an air bridge to transport nearly 30 tons of tents, medicine, and protective apparel into isolated sectors of Ituri and North Kivu.

Meanwhile, international tracking has expanded beyond the African continent. Alongside the stable situation in Uganda where aggressive contact tracing has successfully contained two imported cases—two United States nationals who were working in the DRC have been evacuated. One doctor who tested positive for the virus is currently receiving specialized care in Germany, while a second individual identified as a high-risk contact has been placed under strict isolation and monitoring in the Czech Republic.