Abu dhabi: The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday emphasized the urgent need to intensify efforts to address the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, highlighting the ongoing challenges in tracing transmission chains.

According to Emirates News Agency, WHO's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stressed the necessity of finding and breaking every transmission chain to prevent the epidemic from persisting and posing a threat to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), its neighboring countries, and the broader region. As of Wednesday, the death toll from the outbreak has reached 3,007, with confirmed cases rising to 6,186, based on government data. This outbreak, attributed to the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, has become the largest and deadliest in Congo's history, surpassing the 2018-2020 epidemic.

The current outbreak now ranks as the second-largest globally, following the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which affected over 28,600 individuals and resulted in more than 11,000 deaths across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

The epidemic was officially declared in the Ituri province on May 15th and has since expanded to six provinces, despite concerted efforts by Congolese authorities, WHO, and various aid groups to contain its spread. However, there is cautious optimism regarding potential advancements in treatments and vaccinations. WHO plans to initiate clinical efficacy trials of potential vaccines in the coming months, while trials on treatments are already underway.