WHO declares an Ebola emergency in DRC and Uganda amid rising deaths and fears of wider regional spread

The World Health Organization on Sunday declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern following confirmed cross-border cases linked to the Bundibugyo virus strain.

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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the Ebola emergency after consultations with authorities in both countries as fears intensified over the potential for wider regional transmission.

In a statement released on Sunday, the global health agency said the outbreak met the threshold for an international public health emergency but did not yet qualify as a pandemic emergency.

“The Director-General of WHO, after having consulted the States Parties where the event is known to be currently occurring, is hereby determining that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern,” the statement said.

As of Saturday, health authorities had reported eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths in Ituri Province in eastern Congo across the Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu health zones.

Two confirmed cases, including one death, were also recorded in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, involving travellers arriving from the DRC.

A further confirmed case was detected in Kinshasa on Saturday in a traveller returning from Ituri Province.

WHO said at least four healthcare workers had died in circumstances consistent with viral haemorrhagic fever, raising urgent concerns over infections spreading within health facilities.

The agency warned that the scale of the Ebola emergency was likely far greater than current figures indicated.

Ghebreyesus said the high positivity rate among early samples, confirmed cases in Kampala and Kinshasa, and increasing reports of deaths and suspected infections pointed to a potentially severe outbreak with significant local and regional risks.

He also identified insecurity, humanitarian instability, intense population movement and weak healthcare infrastructure as major factors driving the outbreak, drawing comparisons with the devastating 2018-19 Ebola epidemic in the same region.

WHO stressed that the situation was particularly alarming because there are currently no approved therapeutics or vaccines specifically designed for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.

The agency warned that neighbouring countries sharing borders with the DRC faced elevated risks due to trade links, travel routes and ongoing epidemiological uncertainty.

WHO advised both governments to activate emergency response systems, intensify surveillance and contact tracing operations, and establish specialised treatment centres close to outbreak hotspots.

The organisation also called for exit screening at airports, seaports and key land crossings, while insisting that confirmed Ebola patients must not travel until they record two negative tests taken at least 48 hours apart.

Despite the growing fears, WHO strongly discouraged border closures or trade restrictions.

“No country should close its borders or place any restrictions on travel and trade,” the agency said, warning that such measures often force movement through informal and unmonitored crossings, increasing transmission risks.

WHO further urged affected countries to accelerate clinical trials for experimental vaccines and therapeutics and recommended postponing mass gatherings until transmission is brought under control.

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Ghebreyesus said an Emergency Committee would soon be convened to refine temporary recommendations linked to the Ebola emergency as international health authorities intensify containment efforts.