BY Issah Olegor
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that it could take up to nine months before a vaccine becomes available for the current Ebola outbreak spreading across parts of Central and East Africa, as suspected deaths and infections continue to rise.
The warning comes amid growing concerns over the rapid spread of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which has already triggered a public health emergency and overwhelmed some healthcare facilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighbouring Uganda.
Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday, WHO officials disclosed that although two potential vaccines are currently under development for the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, neither has yet undergone clinical trials.
According to WHO adviser Dr. Vasee Moorthy, the vaccine development process could therefore take several months before a safe and effective vaccine becomes available for use.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the organisation has so far recorded about 600 suspected Ebola cases and 139 suspected deaths linked to the outbreak, although officials believe the actual numbers may be significantly higher.
The WHO chief explained that delays in detecting the virus in affected communities may have allowed the disease to spread unnoticed for some time before international health authorities became fully aware of the scale of the outbreak.
According to the WHO, 51 Ebola cases have already been laboratory-confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak first emerged, while two additional confirmed cases have been identified in neighbouring Uganda.
One of the confirmed Ugandan cases reportedly resulted in death.
The WHO officially declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Sunday, but clarified that the situation had not yet reached the level of a global pandemic emergency.
Tedros explained that after deliberations by the organisation’s emergency committee, the WHO concluded that the epidemic currently poses a high risk at national and regional levels, but remains low at the global level.
Health officials say the epicentre of the outbreak remains eastern DRC, particularly Ituri Province and North Kivu Province, areas that have historically struggled with conflict, displacement and weak healthcare systems.
The first known Ebola case in the current outbreak reportedly involved a nurse in the Ituri provincial capital, Bunia, who developed symptoms and died on April 24.
The body was later transported to Mongwalu, one of two gold-mining towns where many of the infections have since been reported.
The spread of the virus has intensified fears among healthcare workers, especially after several medical personnel were reported among the dead.
International humanitarian organisations operating in the region say hospitals and treatment centres are increasingly becoming overwhelmed by suspected cases.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, says many health facilities are struggling with inadequate space, shortages of protective equipment and mounting pressure from rising infections.
MSF emergency programme manager Trish Newport described the situation as chaotic, saying some hospitals are already unable to accommodate additional suspected Ebola patients.
Health workers on the ground say supplies of personal protective equipment have begun arriving, but many frontline staff are still operating under dangerous conditions with limited protection.
The outbreak has also triggered major behavioural changes within affected communities as public awareness about the deadly virus increases.
Residents in parts of eastern Congo say traditional greetings involving handshakes are already disappearing due to fears of infection.
Araali Bagamba, a lecturer based in Bunia, told the BBC that many people now fully appreciate the seriousness of the outbreak and are altering daily social interactions to reduce physical contact.
Ebola is one of the world’s deadliest viral diseases and is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids or infected surfaces. The disease can cause severe bleeding, organ failure and death if not detected and treated early.
Public health experts fear the situation could worsen before it improves because many initial infections may have gone undetected when symptoms first appeared, allowing transmission chains to spread within communities before containment measures were introduced.
The latest outbreak has once again raised concerns about Africa’s preparedness for deadly infectious diseases, especially in conflict-prone regions where weak healthcare infrastructure and delayed emergency responses often complicate disease control efforts.
