BRUSSELS, BELGIUM / RankWire.AI / – The European Commission has signed an agreement to procure €2.1 million in PCR tests for the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak. The open-platform tests will support efforts to detect infections and strengthen laboratory capacity during the emergency. The Commission arranged the procurement with support from the European Health and Digital Executive Agency. Deliveries will begin in August, adding diagnostic supplies as health authorities respond to rising case numbers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The PCR tests will go to the World Health Organization’s Hub for Global Health Emergencies Logistics in Dubai. WHO will organize their distribution to areas involved in the Ebola response. PCR testing plays a central role in confirming infections because laboratories can process large numbers of samples with high accuracy. The equipment also works with existing laboratory infrastructure. Faster confirmation helps health teams identify infected patients, arrange appropriate care and isolation, and support contact tracing around confirmed cases.
The new procurement follows a separate European Commission agreement covering €2.5 million in rapid molecular point-of-care tests and testing instruments. Those supplies will support the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Together, the two agreements bring the Commission’s latest diagnostic support to €4.6 million. The measures form part of a wider European response to the Bundibugyo virus emergency, which has placed growing pressure on health systems in affected parts of Central and East Africa.
Diagnostic support expands as outbreak grows
WHO reported that the Democratic Republic of the Congo had recorded 4,665 confirmed cases and 2,184 deaths by August 12. Cases had reached 54 health zones across six provinces, including Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo and Bas-Uélé. WHO described the outbreak as the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported in the country. The agency also said transmission remained intense, with interconnected geographic clusters contributing to continued spread inside affected areas.
WHO maintained its highest national risk assessment for the Democratic Republic of the Congo on August 14. It assessed the regional risk for neighboring countries as high and the risk for other countries as low. The agency issued updated temporary recommendations on August 24 after its International Health Regulations Emergency Committee met for a second time. The guidance covers surveillance, case detection, infection prevention, clinical care, community engagement and measures involving domestic mobility and mass gatherings.
Broader European assistance reaches €493 million
The European Commission said it has mobilized €493 million for emergency aid, vaccines, treatment and health-security measures across the Great Lakes and Uganda region. European health authorities have also supported surveillance, laboratory work and preparedness activities during the outbreak. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control continues to assess the risk to people in Europe as very low. Its assessment reflects the need for direct contact with infectious body fluids and the low likelihood of sustained transmission in Europe.
The Bundibugyo outbreak remains a public health emergency of international concern, a status declared by WHO on May 17. Unlike the more commonly reported Zaire ebolavirus, Bundibugyo virus currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. WHO continues to emphasize surveillance, rapid diagnosis, isolation, clinical care, infection control and contact monitoring as core response measures. The European Commission’s latest PCR procurement adds laboratory capacity to those efforts while WHO and Africa CDC coordinate health operations with national authorities in affected and neighboring countries.