Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

Addis Ababa, Jul 12: The heads of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization will travel to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) next week to strengthen efforts to contain the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak.

Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said he and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus would undertake a joint mission to Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province and the centre of the outbreak, on July 18 and 19.

The announcement followed a meeting between the two health leaders in Geneva, where they reviewed the Ebola situation in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda and discussed measures to strengthen the response.

According to Kaseya, the visit will include meetings with national authorities, frontline healthcare workers, affected communities and response partners to improve coordination, accelerate containment efforts and mobilise additional support.

He said the mission aims to reinforce collaboration among stakeholders and help curb the spread of the virus while protecting vulnerable communities.

Earlier, Kaseya had called for greater international support to combat the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, stressing the need for quicker diagnosis, stronger contact tracing, expanded treatment and isolation facilities, and increased medical supplies.

He emphasised that rapidly identifying infections, speeding up testing, safely isolating patients, protecting healthcare workers and working closely with local communities remain the key priorities in controlling the outbreak.

Meanwhile, authorities in the DRC have confirmed that Haut-Uele Province has become the fourth province affected by the current Ebola outbreak.

Provincial officials declared an Ebola epidemic in Haut-Uele after the National Institute for Biomedical Research confirmed seven fatal cases of the Bundibugyo strain in the Wamba health zone.

The declaration marks a further expansion of the outbreak as health authorities continue surveillance and response efforts across affected regions.