The World Health Organization on Sunday declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a "public health emergency of international concern," saying it posed a risk to neighboring countries, Reuters reported.
The WHO said the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, but that countries that share land borders with the DR Congo are at high risk of further spread.
The UN health agency said that as of Saturday, 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported in Ituri province in DR Congo, in at least three health zones, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwala.
WHO: International spread recorded
DR Congo's health ministry said on Friday that 80 people had died in a new outbreak in the eastern province.
The 17th outbreak in the country, where Ebola was first identified in 1976, could actually be much larger, given the high positivity rate of the first samples and the increasing number of suspected cases reported, the WHO said.
The outbreak is "exceptional" because there are no approved drugs or vaccines specific to the Bundibugyo virus, unlike the Ebola-Zaire strains, the WHO said. All but one of the previous outbreaks in the country were caused by the Zaire strain.
The outbreak in DR Congo and Uganda poses a public health risk to other countries, and some cases of international spread have already been documented, the agency said, advising countries to activate national disaster and emergency management mechanisms and introduce cross-border controls, as well as controls on major internal routes.
Two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, were reported in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Friday and Saturday in people who had traveled from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the WHO said.
A laboratory-confirmed case has also been reported in the DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, in a person who returned from Ituri, the WHO said.
People who have been in contact with patients or cases of the disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus should not travel abroad, except as part of a medical evacuation, the WHO said.
The agency advised immediate isolation of confirmed cases and daily contact tracing, along with restrictions on domestic travel and a ban on international travel for up to 21 days after exposure to the virus.
At the same time, the WHO urged countries not to close borders or restrict travel and trade out of fear, as this could lead to people and goods crossing borders through informal and unmonitored routes.
The dense tropical forests of the DR Congo are a natural reservoir of the Ebola virus.
The often deadly virus, which causes fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea, is spread through 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.
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