Health officials say the outbreak has already recorded around 246 suspected infections and at least 80 deaths in Ituri province, sparking fears of wider regional spread due to heavy movement of people across borders and mining communities.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there are still major uncertainties about the true number of infections and the full geographic spread of the outbreak.
The current outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare form of the virus for which there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments.
According to the WHO, eight laboratory-confirmed cases have already been identified, while several suspected infections and deaths have been reported in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, as well as the gold-mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara.
Health authorities in Uganda have also confirmed two Ebola cases connected to the outbreak. Ugandan officials said a 59-year-old man who died on Thursday tested positive for the virus.
The WHO warned that countries neighbouring DR Congo remain at high risk because of frequent travel, trade and population movement across borders.
To control the outbreak, the global health agency has advised both DR Congo and Uganda to establish emergency operation centres to improve monitoring, contact tracing and infection prevention measures.
The WHO also urged health officials to quickly isolate infected patients and continue treatment until two virus-specific tests conducted at least 48 hours apart return negative results.
Countries surrounding the affected areas have been asked to strengthen surveillance systems and improve health reporting to detect possible new cases early.
Despite growing concern, the WHO said countries outside the affected region should not close borders or stop travel and trade, arguing that such actions are often driven by fear rather than scientific evidence.
Ebola was first discovered in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo and is believed to have originated from bats. This latest outbreak marks the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the country.
The virus spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or broken skin and can cause severe bleeding, organ failure and death. Early symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, muscle pain and sore throat before progressing to vomiting, diarrhoea, skin rashes and bleeding.
The WHO says Ebola’s average fatality rate stands at about 50 percent.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has also warned that the urban nature of Bunia and Rwampara, together with mining activity in Mongwalu, could make it harder to contain the outbreak.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said regional cooperation will be critical because of the large movement of people between affected areas and neighbouring countries.
Over the past five decades, Ebola outbreaks across Africa have killed around 15,000 people. DR Congo experienced its deadliest outbreak between 2018 and 2020, when nearly 2,300 people lost their lives.
Last year alone, another outbreak in a remote part of the country claimed 45 lives.
