WHO chief visits Ebola outbreak epicenter in eastern Congo as cases outpace response - CBS News
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WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has landed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, making an urgent visit to the epicenter of a rapidly escalating Ebola outbreak. Cases are surging in North Kivu and Ituri province, outpacing an already stretched response, threatening to destabilize an already fragile region and rekindle fears of a wider epidemic. This latest flare-up highlights the persistent nexus of conflict, public mistrust, and inadequate infrastructure that has plagued previous Ebola responses in the DRC. Armed groups routinely disrupt health operations, creating no-go zones for vaccination teams and contact tracers, while deeply ingrained vaccine hesitancy among communities further complicates containment efforts. The current situation echoes the devastating 2018-2020 outbreak, which became the second-largest in history amid unprecedented violence against health workers. Dr. Tedros's presence is a critical bid to re-mobilize international support and foster community engagement, but the immediate challenge remains establishing secure humanitarian corridor and ramping up targeted vaccinations with ERVEBO. Failure to rapidly gain control could see the virus metastasize across provincial borders, potentially overwhelming neighboring countries and demanding a far costlier global intervention.