The true scale of the deadly Ebola outbreak currently sweeping through Africa could be far greater than official figures suggest, Oxfam has warned, amid fears the virus is spreading ‘undetected’.
The charity’s stark message comes a day after 72 new cases linked to the outbreak were recorded in a single day – one of the highest daily totals since it began in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last month.
According to the DRC’s health ministry, there have been 782 confirmed cases and 181 deaths, while 51 people have recovered from the virus. A further 19 deaths have been reported in neighbouring Uganda.
But those figures conflict with World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said that the outbreak had killed more than 220 people and that there were close to 1,000 suspected cases at the end of May.
While the exact toll remains unclear, Oxfam today warned that a lack of resource in Ituri – one of the epicentres of the outbreak – may be allowing the virus to spread without detection.
The charity said that just one in five health facilities in the region has access to the requisite amount of clean water, which is ‘the first line of defence against transmission’ of the virus.
This, the charity say, raises ‘fears that the true scale of the outbreak is underestimated’.
On top of this, Oxfam say frontline health workers in the region also cannot access ‘basic protective equipment’ – adding that these ‘conditions are hampering efforts to contain the spread of the virus’.
Red Cross workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 10, 2026
Red Cross workers carry the coffin of a man who died of Ebola virus in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 10, 2026
Manel Rebordosa, a field response coordinator for Oxfam in Ituri, said: ‘Water – the absolute first line of defense in any public health emergency – is simply not available.
‘Miners working in the surrounding areas have no toilets and handwashing stations, then they return home to communities already battling the virus.
‘Clean water costs two dollars for 20 litres. For most families here, that is far beyond what they can afford.’
Oxfam’s concerns also stretch to the lack of contact tracing in the region, a public health tactic in which officials attempt to track down and monitor those who may have been exposed to viruses.
In the current outbreak, contact tracing is reaching just 43 per cent of known contacts, almost half the rate of the 2018 to 2020 Ebola outbreak in the same region.
Rebordosa said: ‘One month into the 2018 outbreak, health care workers achieved contact tracing rates where nearly eight in ten known contacts were successfully monitored.
‘Today, following the withdrawal of US funding for disease surveillance and severe funding shortfalls, contact tracing is reaching fewer than half of the contacts.
‘That gap is not just a statistic, it is a painful reality that allows the virus to spread undetected through communities.’
There are also troubling statistics surrounding access to healthcare in eastern DRC, where conflict has raged since March 2022.
Oxfam claim that more than 70 healthcare facilities have been destroyed, leaving just 0.2 doctors for every 1,000 people.
Health workers disinfect themselves after preparing the body of an Ebola victim in Bunia, Congo, Friday, June 12
In areas like North Kivu, patients are dying rapidly due to a lack of healthcare access. They are also passing away before being diagnosed with Ebola, raising fears that these deaths may account for some of the outbreak’s missing cases.
The situation shows no signs of improving, as global funding to the DRC has been cut by almost half to around £1billion – the lowest figure in a decade.
There are now fears that the virus could become a global concern, with the US’s health protection agency declaring that the current outbreak could become the largest on record.
Fears were also sparked when suspected cases appeared in Brazil, Italy and Austria in recent weeks, though tests for the virus ultimately came back negative.
Meanwhile, NHS staff have also been told to prepare for a potential outbreak on British shores.
Earlier this month, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) urged hospitals, GPs and frontline services to ensure they are ready to rapidly identify and isolate suspected Ebola patients, warning that while the risk to Britain remains low, imported cases are possible.
Healthcare providers have also been instructed to check they have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ensure staff are trained in its use, alongside clear protocols for managing suspected cases.
Elsewhere, clinicians were being reminded to consider Ebola in any patient who is acutely unwell with a fever and has travelled from affected regions within the past 21 days – the virus’s incubation period.
Under the guidance, suspected cases must be treated urgently, with patients isolated immediately and assessed by staff using protective measures.
Strict infection control procedures are required, and cases must be escalated rapidly to specialist public health teams, as Ebola is a notifiable disease in the UK.
Ebola killed 11,000 people in West Africa between 2014 and 2016. However, unlike that outbreak, the current crisis is caused by the Bundibugyo virus – which has no current vaccine to help contain it.
Symptoms remain the same across all Ebola variants, starting with a flu-like fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea before progressing to internal bleeding, organ failure and death.
The origin of the Bundibugyo variant is unknown but some researchers believe it was passed onto humans by fruit bats.
Fruit bats – believed to be one of the causes of the Bundubugyo variant – fly in the sky above Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 11, 2026
Scientists at Oxford University are racing to develop a vaccine, but warn that it will take two to three months before the jab can be tested on humans, meaning it is unlikely patients in Africa will get the drug within the next six months.
A successful vaccine would likely protect patients from severe illness and death as well as limit the spread of the virus. However, there is also no guarantee that the jab will be effective.
Experts say that the Bundibugyo strain is not new, but it is rare. The variant was first recorded in 2007 and takes its name from the area of western Uganda where it was spotted.
It then arose for a second time in the DRC in 2012. However, both outbreaks were limited in size – with just over 200 combined confirmed and probable cases and around 66 deaths.
It is thought to spread through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of a person who is sick or has died from the virus, or through contact with contaminated surfaces.
Patients can carry the virus for up to 21 days before symptoms begin, which is when experts believe they become infectious.
The current outbreak was declared an international health emergency by the WHO on May 17.
