The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern following more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths
In a statement shared on X, the WHO clarified that the outbreak does not qualify as a pandemic emergency similar to the COVID-19 crisis and advised countries against shutting international borders.
The organisation also confirmed that a laboratory-tested Ebola case was recorded in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located about 1,000 kilometres from the outbreak’s epicentre in Ituri province, raising fears of a wider spread of the virus.
According to the WHO, the infected patient had travelled to Ituri, while additional suspected cases have emerged in North Kivu province, one of the country’s most populated regions bordering Ituri.
Ebola is a highly infectious disease transmitted through bodily fluids including blood, vomit and semen. The illness is rare but severe and can often be fatal.
Health officials disclosed that the current outbreak, which was first confirmed on Friday, is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola — a rare variant for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.
Although the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda have recorded more than 20 Ebola outbreaks in the past, this marks only the third detection of the Bundibugyo strain.
The WHO added that all but two of the reported cases were recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while the remaining two cases were confirmed in Uganda.
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