WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the second-highest alert level, stopping short of declaring a pandemic. "I determine that the epidemic constitutes a public health emergency of international concern", he wrote on X.
Congolese authorities have recorded 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths across three health zones, with eight laboratory-confirmed infections. The virus has crossed into neighboring Uganda, where a 59-year-old man died Thursday after testing positive — prompting authorities to cancel the annual Martyrs' Day pilgrimage, which draws thousands each year.
The outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists. First identified in 2007, this is its third known outbreak, following episodes in Uganda in 2007-2008 and in DRC in 2012. The strain carries an estimated fatality rate of 25 to 40 percent.
Early symptoms include fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, and sore throat, progressing to vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and internal and external bleeding. The virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals or the deceased.
"The number of cases and deaths in such a short time, combined with spread across multiple health zones and beyond borders, is deeply alarming", said Trish Newport, emergency response chief at Médecins Sans Frontières. "In Ituri, many people already struggle to access healthcare amid persistent instability, making a rapid response essential".
This is DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak. Its deadliest, between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people.
WHO has recommended that DRC and Uganda establish emergency operations centers to monitor and contain the spread.
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Source: Polish Radio, PAP