Democratic republic of congo: The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, issued a grave warning on Tuesday regarding the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), emphasizing that the situation is worsening at an unprecedented rate. Concerns are mounting over the potential spread of the virus to neighboring countries.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Tedros addressed an emergency meeting on the crisis, stating, “Let’s be clear: the epidemic is far from being under control.” He further highlighted the challenges faced by containment efforts, noting that the epidemic “has far outpaced us, and we are still trying to catch up.”

This alarming update follows the DRC’s announcement on Monday that the current outbreak has resulted in over 2,300 fatalities from nearly 5,000 confirmed cases, marking it as the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the nation’s history. The 17th recorded outbreak in the DRC was officially declared on May 15, although the virus is suspected to have been circulating weeks beforehand.

The WHO’s Emergency Committee convened for the second time on Tuesday since the outbreak was classified as a “public health emergency of international concern” on May 17, a designation that represents the organization’s second-highest alert level. As of now, it remains unclear when the committee will release its next set of recommendations.