Reuters —
The World Health Organization on Sunday declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern” and posing a risk to neighboring countries.
The WHO said that while the outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, countries that share land borders with the DRC are at high risk of further spread.
The United Nations health agency said in a statement that as of Saturday, 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported across at least three health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri department, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mombuwal.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Health announced Friday that 80 people have died in a new outbreak in the eastern province.
The outbreak, the 17th in the country since Ebola was first identified in the country in 1976, could become even larger given the high rate of positive initial samples and the growing number of suspected cases being reported, WHO said.
The newspaper said the outbreak was “unusual” because, unlike the Ebola strain, there are no approved treatments or vaccines specific for the Bundibugyo virus. All but one of the country’s previous outbreaks have been caused by the Zaire strain.
The agency said the outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda pose a public health risk to other countries, and cases of international spread have already been recorded, and advised countries to activate national disaster and emergency management mechanisms and carry out cross-border testing and on major roads within the country.
Uganda’s capital Kampala reported two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed cases (one death) of travelers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Friday and Saturday, the WHO said.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, also reported a laboratory-confirmed case in a person who returned from Ituri, WHO said.
WHO said people infected with the virus or who are infected in Bundibugyo should not travel abroad unless it is part of a medical evacuation.
The agency recommended that confirmed cases be immediately isolated, contacts monitored daily, domestic travel restricted, and international travel prohibited for 21 days after infection.
At the same time, the WHO urged countries not to close borders or restrict travel or trade out of fear. This could allow people and goods to cross unmonitored and unofficial borders.
DRC’s dense tropical forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus.
The highly deadly virus, which causes fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea, is spread by direct contact with the body fluids of infected people, contaminated materials or people who have died from the disease, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
