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An Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization, after 80 suspected deaths and nine laboratory-confirmed cases.
The UN health agency said the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency but that countries sharing land borders with the DRC are at high risk of further spread.
On Sunday, WHO said in a statement that 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported as of Saturday in the DRC’s Ituri province across at least three health zones, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
A ninth case was confirmed in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, a statement by M23 rebels said.
International spread documented, WHO says
The 17th outbreak in the country, where Ebola was first identified in 1976, could in fact be much larger, given the high positivity rate of the initial samples and increasing number of suspected cases being reported, WHO said.
The outbreak is “extraordinary” as there are no approved Bundibugyo virus-specific therapeutics or vaccines, unlike for Ebola-Zaire strains, it said. All but one of the country’s previous outbreaks were caused by the Zaire strain.
The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ but said it does not meet the criteria for a pandemic. As of Saturday, the DRC’s Ituri province had reported 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases across at least three health zones.
The DRC-Uganda outbreak poses a public health risk to other countries, with some cases of an international spread already documented, the agency said, advising countries to activate their national disaster and emergency-management mechanisms and undertake cross-border screening and screening at main internal roads.
In Uganda’s capital, Kampala, two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, were reported on Friday and Saturday, from people traveling 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 health agency said Bundibugyo virus-disease contacts or cases should not travel internationally, unless as part of a medical evacuation.
It also advised immediately isolating confirmed cases and monitoring contacts daily, with restricted national travel and no international travel until 21 days after exposure.
At the same time, the WHO urged countries not to close their borders or restrict travel and trade out of fear, as this could lead to people and goods making informal border crossings that are not monitored.
The DRC’s dense tropical forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus.
Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement that he had requested technical guidance and recommendations on the potential need to declare the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security.
The often-fatal virus, which causes fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea, spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons, contaminated materials or persons who have died from the disease, according to the Africa CDC.