WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak in DRC and Uganda a Public Health Emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern”.

The WHO on Sunday said the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency.

The UN health agency said 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.

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

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.

The spread prompted the Africa CDC to warn of “active community transmission” as health workers raced to intensify screening and contact tracing to contain the disease.

Journalists from Associated Press in Ituri’s capital, Bunia, interviewed locals who recounted their fears and constant burials.

“Every day, people are dying … and this has been going on for about a week. In a single day, we bury two, three or even more people,” said Jean Marc Asimwe, a resident of Bunia. “At this point, we don’t really know what kind of disease it is.”

Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.

Officials first announced the latest outbreak in Congo on Friday with 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases.

At an online briefing on Saturday, the Africa CDC director-general, Dr Jean Kaseya, said the first cases were reported in Mongwalu health zone, a high-traffic mining area. “Cases subsequently migrated to Rwampara and Bunia as patients sought medical care, enabling spread across three health zones,” he said.

A high number of active cases remain within the local community, particularly in Mongwalu, Kaseya said, “significantly complicating containment and contact tracing efforts”.

Insecurity in Ituri, where Islamic State-backed militants carry out rampant deadly attacks, continues to restrict surveillance and rapid response operations, he added.

Congo has experience managing Ebola outbreaks but often faces logistical challenges in delivering expertise and supplies to affected regions.

As Africa’s second-largest country by land area, Congo’s provinces are far from one another and mostly battling conflict. Ituri, for instance, is about 1,000km (620 miles) from the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, and is ravaged by violence from Islamic State-backed militants.

With Reuters and Associated Press