The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is far from being under control, with the disease spreading at an unprecedented rate.

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, issued the warning on Tuesday during an emergency meeting on the outbreak.

Tedros said the epidemic was moving faster than any previous Ebola outbreak and that the risk of further national and international spread remained high.

He said response efforts were struggling to keep pace with the spread of the virus, stressing the need for stronger international support and faster interventions.

The outbreak has so far affected several provinces in the DRC, including areas close to the border with South Sudan, while neighbouring Uganda has also reported cases.

The situation has been particularly severe in Ituri Province, which has emerged as the epicentre of the outbreak.

According to the WHO and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, thousands of confirmed cases and deaths have been recorded since the outbreak began, with health authorities facing challenges including insecurity, misinformation, inadequate infrastructure and shortages of essential medical supplies.

The WHO chief urged countries and international partners to strengthen surveillance, contact tracing, community engagement and other measures needed to interrupt transmission.

He also stressed the importance of ensuring that affected communities trust and participate in the response, saying community cooperation remained critical to containing the virus.

The warning comes after Uganda declared its Ebola outbreak over on July 28, following 20 confirmed cases and two deaths.

WHO and Africa CDC officials said Uganda's experience demonstrated that early detection, rapid contact tracing and strong community engagement could help bring Ebola outbreaks under control.

However, they warned that the situation in the DRC remained significantly more challenging.

The agencies called for sustained funding and coordinated international support to help the Congolese authorities contain the outbreak and prevent it from spreading to additional countries.