WHO: Ebola poses significant threat to DRC neighbors, urges immediate action

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday urged countries bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to take immediate action to curb the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, warning they face a significant threat.

"Countries that border the DRC are at particularly high risk and should take immediate action," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is set to travel to the DRC, the current epicentre of the outbreak, on Saturday.

"The epidemic is spreading fast," Tedros told a virtual ministerial meeting on the viral haemorrhagic fever, which can cause severe bleeding and organ failure and is transmitted through direct contact with body fluids.

He described the current outbreak as "particularly tricky."

"First, we are behind in detection, which means we are now forced to chase this very fast-moving epidemic," he said via video link from Geneva.

"Second, the provinces in the east of the DRC where the outbreak was first detected in mid-May are highly volatile, with escalating armed conflict in recent months and a strong distrust of external official bodies by the local population."

Third, he noted, there are "no approved vaccines or therapeutics" for the strain of Ebola causing the current outbreak, the Bundibugyo virus.