The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health emergency of international concern over the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
The WHO said that the organization's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has assessed that the Ebola outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern“ (PHEIC), although it does not yet meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency.
According to the organization, the decision aims to put neighboring countries on high alert and mobilize international support to contain the infection.
As of Saturday, eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 presumptive cases and 80 presumed deaths had been recorded in at least three health zones in Ituri province in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the WHO said. The province borders Uganda and South Sudan.
The organization also reported that two laboratory-confirmed cases were identified in the Ugandan capital Kampala on May 15 and 16, one of which resulted in death. According to WHO, the two infected people traveled from DR Congo and no direct link has been established between the cases.
Ebola is a highly contagious and life-threatening viral disease that is transmitted through physical contact and contact with bodily fluids.
According to the German Robert Koch Institute, the mortality rate for Ebola can reach 90% in the absence of timely treatment.
During the epidemic in West Africa in 2014-2015, the disease killed more than 11,000 people.
The last Ebola outbreak in DR Congo was recorded in September last year, when 45 people died in the Kasai province in the southwestern part of the country. This was the 16th Ebola epidemic in the country since 1976, BTA notes.