The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern” following the rapid spread of cases and the risk of cross-border transmission.
The WHO announced on Sunday that the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, poses a serious threat to neighbouring countries, although it does not yet meet the criteria of a global pandemic emergency.
According to the UN health agency, at least 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected infections had been reported by Saturday in the DRC’s eastern Ituri province. The affected health zones include Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The DRC health ministry confirmed on Friday that 80 people had died in the outbreak, which is now the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified there in 1976.
The WHO warned that the outbreak could be significantly larger than currently reported due to the high positivity rate among initial samples and the increasing number of suspected cases emerging in the region.
Health officials described the outbreak as “extraordinary” because there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, unlike the more common Ebola-Zaire strain responsible for most previous outbreaks in the DRC.
The WHO also confirmed that international spread has already been documented. In Kampala, two laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases, including one death, were recorded involving individuals who had travelled from the DRC.
Another confirmed case was reported in Kinshasa involving a person who recently returned from Ituri province.
The WHO has urged countries sharing land borders with the DRC to activate national disaster and emergency response systems, strengthen cross-border screening and increase monitoring along major transport routes.
The agency advised that confirmed Ebola patients and contacts should avoid international travel unless it is part of a medical evacuation. It further recommended immediate isolation of confirmed cases and daily monitoring of contacts for 21 days after exposure.
At the same time, the WHO cautioned countries against closing borders or restricting trade and travel, warning that such measures could force people to use informal and unmonitored crossing points, making the outbreak more difficult to control.
The DRC’s dense tropical forests are considered a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus. Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease that spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals, contaminated materials or the bodies of people who have died from the disease.
Symptoms include fever, severe body aches, vomiting and diarrhoea, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
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