Africa CDC chief warns Ebola outbreak is spreading faster than West African crisis

The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded more than 10,000 confirmed cases of Ebola, with the death toll surpassing 5,000, according to the latest report from the country's public health institute. Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that the outbreak is the fastest-growing in history and the second-largest ever recorded.

Kaseya warned that the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which scientists suspect spread undetected for months before the outbreak was declared in mid-May, is moving at a pace that could outstrip the 2014 to 2016 West African crisis. He noted that if the current trajectory holds, the Congo will surpass the 28,000 infections recorded in West Africa within one year, rather than the two and a half years that region experienced.

The director-general identified three main obstacles to containment: ongoing conflict, public distrust, and the absence of an approved treatment or vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain. He cautioned that the virus is not confined to the DRC, with cases already appearing in Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria. Nigeria reported its first infection in a decade last week, involving a Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat who was subsequently flown to Switzerland for treatment.

Kaseya specifically urged Canada to increase its support, citing his personal ties to the country where he has lived since 2013. He is currently separated from his wife and three children, who reside in Quebec and Ontario. "No one is safe today," he said in an interview from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He called on Western nations to move from a low-risk stance to active support to stop the outbreak at its source.

Canada committed $8 million to the response in May, allocating $2 million to the Africa CDC for surveillance and biosecurity. Health Canada authorized a clinical trial for a Moderna vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain in late July. The federal government also issued outbreak alerts for Kenya and Nigeria in October, maintaining temporary border measures to monitor entry risks.

Canadian scientists are contributing to the effort through genomic research. Jason Kindrachuk, a microbiologist at the University of Winnipeg, stated that Canadian and Congolese teams have sequenced more than 1,000 genomes to analyze the virus's behavior. However, he described the funding for this collaborative work as finite, noting that high-income countries need to provide sustained investment to keep testing and sequencing programs operational.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said it will continue to monitor the situation and adjust measures based on evolving evidence. Kaseya said that without broader support, the threat of Ebola could persist for months, and while Canada's risk remains low, he implored officials to help stop the spread where it is currently active.