WHO reports progress against Ebola in Ituri, but North Kivu cases surge

The World Health Organization has reported mixed progress in the fight against an Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with transmission slowing in one province but accelerating sharply in another.

Speaking at the agency's headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there are "encouraging signs" that health workers are gaining ground in the most affected parts of Ituri province, where transmission is going down. South Kivu, he added, has recorded no new cases since May.

But Tedros cautioned that the outbreak as a whole continues to expand and kill. More than 7,200 cases and over 3,500 deaths have been reported across seven provinces, he said.

The sharpest concern is North Kivu, where weekly case counts have nearly doubled over the past two weeks, climbing from about 100 to more than 200. Tedros described the affected area as so vast that it is difficult to treat as a single epidemic, calling the situation one of "many outbreaks in many places."

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's director for epidemic and pandemic management, urged a measured response. She said there is room for cautious optimism about current trends, but stressed that the road ahead remains difficult and that assessing trends takes time.

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare species of the disease. Last week, Congolese officials said the world's fastest-growing outbreak of the disease on record had spread to seven provinces and was showing no signs of slowing down.