WHO declares Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, Uganda a global health emergency

WHO declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths. The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus disease, a rare Ebola type with no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Most suspected cases are in the DRC, with two reported in neighbouring Uganda. Health authorities reported spread in the DRC’s eastern province of Ituri near Uganda and South Sudan. Uganda confirmed two imported cases in Kampala that were not linked. WHO warned the outbreak could be much larger due to a high positivity rate in initial samples and a rising number of suspected cases, and said neighbouring countries face high risk of further spread.

"The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths were reported. In a social media post on Sunday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency but that neighbouring countries are at high risk of further spread."

"Health authorities have confirmed the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), a rare type of Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in the DRC and Uganda, this is only the third time BVD has been reported. The WHO said the outbreak could be much larger, given the high positivity rate of the initial samples and the increasing number of suspected cases being reported."

"The DRC accounts for all except two of the cases, both of which were reported in neighbouring Uganda, the WHO said. Officials first reported the spread of the virus in the DRC's eastern province of Ituri, close to Uganda and South Sudan, on Friday. On Saturday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDCP) reported 336 suspected cases and 87 deaths."

"Uganda on Saturday confirmed one case it said was imported from the DRC, saying the patient died at a hospital in its capital, Kampala. The WHO then confirmed a second case had been reported in Kampala, adding that the two cases did not appear to be linked and both patients had travelled from the DRC. The DRC-Uganda outbreak poses a public health risk to neighbouring countries, the United Nations health agency said, advising countries to activate their national disaster and emergency management mechanisms and undertake cross-border screenin"

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