WHO declares global health emergency over vaccine-resistant Ebola outbreak across two African nations

The WHO said the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo ⁠virus, does ​not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency, but said countries sharing land borders with the DRC are at high risk for further spread.

International spread documented, WHO says

The DRC health ministry had said on ‌Friday that 80 people had died in the new outbreak in the eastern province.

There could potentially be a much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and reported, the WHO said, given the high positivity rate of the initial samples and the increasing number of suspected cases being reported.

The outbreak is “extraordinary” as there are no approved Bundibugyo virus-specific therapeutics or vaccines, unlike ⁠for Ebola-zaire strains, it said.

The ⁠DRC-Uganda outbreak poses a public health risk to other countries, with some such 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 travelling 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.