Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern”, citing risks to neighbouring countries. The agency said the outbreak does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency.
Status of the outbreak
The WHO said the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus and warned that countries sharing land borders with the DRC are at high risk for further spread.
As of Saturday, the WHO said 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported in the DRC’s Ituri province across at least three health zones, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The DRC health ministry said on Friday that 80 people had died in the new outbreak in the eastern province.
Assessment and medical countermeasures
The WHO said the outbreak is the 17th in the country, where Ebola was first identified in 1976, and that it could be much larger given the high positivity rate of the initial samples and the increasing number of suspected cases being reported.
The agency described the outbreak as “extraordinary” because there are no approved Bundibugyo virus-specific therapeutics or vaccines, unlike for Ebola-Zaire strains. It said all but one of the DRC’s previous outbreaks were caused by the Zaire strain.
Cross-border spread and response measures
The WHO said the DRC-Uganda outbreak poses a public health risk to other countries, with some cases of international spread already documented. It advised countries to activate national disaster and emergency-management mechanisms and undertake cross-border screening and screening at main internal roads.
In Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the WHO said two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, were reported on Friday and Saturday from people travelling from the DRC.
The WHO also said a laboratory-confirmed case was reported in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, from a person returning from Ituri.
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