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World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 10,000 people have been infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and that nearly half of them have died.

In a post on the US-based social media platform X, Ghebreyesus said around 2,700 people have recovered and more than 1,000 are receiving clinical care, and called for continued global solidarity to keep the response going.

WHO reports the outbreak toll

Ghebreyesus posted about the Ebola outbreak in the DRC from an account on the US-based social media platform X. "More than 10,000 people have been reported infected with Ebola in the DRC, and unfortunately nearly half of them have lost their lives," Ghebreyesus wrote, pointing to multiple deaths in some families.

The DRC Health Ministry said in a statement that the number of confirmed cases in the outbreak had risen to 10,060 and the number of deaths to 4,887.

Response work and new vaccine candidates

Drawing attention to the work carried out under the leadership of the DRC government with the support of partners, Ghebreyesus said about 2,700 people have recovered so far and more than 1,000 are currently receiving clinical care. New vaccine and treatment candidates for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus are being developed through science, collaboration and the contributions of communities, Ghebreyesus said.

"These efforts and the progress recorded give us not only hope, they show that the outbreak can be brought under control and ultimately ended," Ghebreyesus said, calling for global solidarity and support to sustain the response. "We will never slow down our work," Ghebreyesus added.

Outbreak declared in Ituri province

An epidemic was declared in the country on 15 May after 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths were reported in Ituri province in eastern DRC.

According to health authorities, the Bundibugyo Ebola variant that emerged in May has no approved treatment or vaccine.

Ebola's history in Africa

The Ebola virus, which causes a type of hemorrhagic fever, first appeared in simultaneous outbreaks in Nzara in Sudan and Yambuku in the DRC in 1976. The disease was named after the Ebola River because the outbreak in the DRC started in a village near it.

The virus spread in West Africa in December 2013. In the 2014-2016 epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, 30,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 patients died.

Key takeaways

• WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported more than 10,000 Ebola infections in the DRC, with nearly half of those infected dying.
• DRC Health Ministry figures put confirmed cases at 10,060 and deaths at 4,887.
• About 2,700 people have recovered and more than 1,000 are receiving clinical care, Ghebreyesus said.
• The epidemic was declared on 15 May after 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths in Ituri province, and the Bundibugyo variant has no approved vaccine or treatment.