WHO Clears Cepheid Ebola Test for Emergency Use in DRC

The panel identifies nucleic acids for several high-risk pathogens, including Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever viruses. By utilizing Cepheid’s existing GeneXpert Dx infrastructure, which is already widely distributed across the African continent, health authorities can secure diagnostic results in approximately one hour. This decentralized approach allows providers to bypass the delays often associated with centralized laboratory processing, shifting testing closer to the point of care.

Connie Savor, Chief Medical Officer at Cepheid, emphasized that reliable, rapid diagnostics remain the primary tool for managing highly infectious outbreaks. The company has a history of supporting such crises, previously deploying rapid testing during the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic. Following the WHO's declaration of the current outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17, 2026, Cepheid began shipping tests to the DRC, including units cleared under the U.S. Department of Defense's Next Generation Diagnostics System 2 Program.