The World Health Organization on Sunday declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern,” posing risks to neighboring countries.
The WHO said the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency but that countries sharing land borders with DRC are at high risk for further spread.
The UN health agency said in a statement that 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported as of Saturday in DRC’s Ituri province across at least three health zones, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
WHO: International spread
The DRC health ministry had said on Friday that 80 people had died in the new outbreak in the eastern province.
The outbreak – the 17th in the country since Ebola was first identified there in 1976 – could be much larger, given the high positivity rate of the initial samples and increasing number of suspected cases being reported, the WHO said.
The outbreak is “extraordinary” as there are no approved Bundibugyo virus-specific therapeutics or vaccines, unlike for Ebola-zaire strains, it said. All but one of the country’s previous outbreaks were caused by the Zaire strain.
The DRC-Uganda outbreak poses a public health risk to other countries, with some cases of an international spread already documented, the agency said, advising countries to activate their national disaster and emergency-management mechanisms and undertake cross-border screening and screening at main internal roads.
In Uganda’s capital, Kampala, two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, were reported on Friday and Saturday, from people traveling from the DRC, the WHO said.
A laboratory-confirmed case was also reported in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, from a person returning from Ituri, the WHO said.
Bundibugyo virus-disease contacts or cases should not travel internationally, unless as part of a medical evacuation, the WHO said.
The agency advised immediately isolating confirmed cases and monitoring contacts daily, with restricted national travel and no international travel until 21 days after exposure.
At the same time, the WHO urged countries not to close their borders or restrict travel and trade out of fear, as this could lead to people and goods making informal border crossings that are not monitored.
The DRC’s dense tropical forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus.
The number of Americans currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo is believed to have had exposure to suspected cases in the country’s latest Ebola outbreak, with several deemed to have had high-risk exposures, STAT News reported on Sunday.
At least one of these individuals may have developed symptoms, the report said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
The often-fatal virus, which causes fever, body aches, vomiting, and diarrhea, spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons, contaminated materials, or persons who have died from the disease, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
