In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ebola outbreak is spreading, with the number of infections rising rapidly. Declared in mid-May, this seventeenth Ebola outbreak has already claimed more than 1,700 lives. To address this situation, the World Health Organisation has called for an “intensified” medical response. Teams of doctors have been sent to the DR Congo, and specialised centres have been set up in the hardest-hit provinces while trials to find an effective vaccine continue.