A senior World Health Organization (WHO) official has warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is still spreading largely undetected in some heavily affected areas. WHO Emergencies Director Chikwe Ihekweazu said 70 to 80% of new cases in the Bunia area are coming from outside known contact lists, making it harder for health workers to trace transmission chains.

The latest government data showed 1,792 infections and 625 deaths, while WHO modeling suggests the true scale of the outbreak could be two to four times larger than reported. Authorities have begun training 21,000 community health workers to conduct house-to-house visits, identify suspected cases and encourage patients to seek care.