Geneva, May 17 (SANA) The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Sunday that the Ebola outbreak caused by the “Bundibugyo” strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, though it does not meet the criteria to be classified as a pandemic.
In a statement, WHO said the declaration was based on eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected infections, and 80 suspected deaths linked to the disease in Ituri province in eastern Congo.
The reported cases are spread across the health zones of Bunia, Rwampara and Mongwalu. Authorities also confirmed a case in Kinshasa involving a person who had returned from Ituri province.
In Uganda, two confirmed infections were recorded in the capital, Kampala, among individuals arriving from Congo. One of the infected patients later died.
WHO said unusual clusters of community deaths and symptoms associated with the Bundibugyo strain had been detected, alongside infections and deaths among healthcare workers, raising concerns over transmission inside medical facilities and gaps in infection prevention and control measures.
The organization warned that uncertainty surrounding the actual number of infections, combined with humanitarian and security challenges and high population movement, could increase the risk of the virus spreading locally and across the region, particularly in the absence of approved vaccines or treatments for the strain.
Congo’s Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba warned Saturday of the seriousness of the Ebola strain spreading in the country, saying it carries a very high fatality rate and that no specific vaccine or treatment is currently available.
N.J/ R.K
