WHO declares global health emergency for Ebola outbreak
The Ebola epidemic that occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda was declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization after 80 suspicious deaths.
The outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, but countries that share a land border with the Democratic Republic of Congo are at high risk of further spread, WHO said.
On Sunday, the United Nations health agency said 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported as of Saturday in at least three health zones in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
In the statement made by M23 rebels, it was stated that a case was confirmed in the city of Goma in the east of Congo.
The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced on Friday that 80 people died in the new epidemic in the eastern province.
The World Health Organization said the 17th outbreak in the country, where Ebola was first detected in 1976, could be much larger given the high positivity rate in initial samples and the increasing number of suspected cases reported.
The outbreak was stated to be “extraordinary” as there is no approved treatment or vaccine specific to the Bundibugyo virus, unlike the Ebola-Zaire strains. All but one of the country’s previous outbreaks were caused by the Zaire strain.
The agency noted that the Democratic Republic of Congo-Uganda epidemic poses a public health risk to other countries, with some cases of international spread already documented, and advised countries to activate national disaster and emergency management mechanisms and conduct cross-border screening and screening on major internal roads.
Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters Sunday that the agency has activated its emergency response center for the outbreak and plans to send more people to its offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Satish Pillai, CDC Ebola response incident manager, declined to say whether there were Americans among those infected.
The World Health Organization said two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, were reported in Uganda’s capital Kampala on Friday and Saturday in people traveling from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A laboratory-confirmed case previously reported in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, tested negative after secondary testing was conducted, the WHO said on Sunday.
The World Health Organization has said contacts or cases of Bundibugyo virus disease should not travel internationally unless as part of a medical evacuation.
The agency recommended immediate isolation of confirmed cases and daily monitoring of contacts, restricting domestic travel, and avoiding international travel for up to 21 days after exposure.
At the same time, 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 unofficial border crossings that are not monitored.
The dense tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus.
The often fatal virus, which causes fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea, is spread through direct contact with the body fluids of infected people, contaminated materials or body fluids of people who have died from the disease, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
