Uganda: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern”, citing risks to neighbouring countries.
The WHO said the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, but countries sharing land borders with the DRC are at high risk of further spread.
The UN health agency said in a statement that, as of Saturday, 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported in the DRC’s Ituri province across at least three health zones, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The DRC health ministry said on Friday that 80 people had died in the new outbreak in the eastern province.
The outbreak — the 17th in the country since Ebola was first identified there in 1976 — could be much larger, given the high positivity rate in initial samples and the increasing number of suspected cases being reported, the WHO said.
The outbreak is “extraordinary” because there are no approved therapeutics or vaccines specific to the Bundibugyo virus, unlike those available for the Ebola Zaire strain, it added. All but one of the country’s previous outbreaks were caused by the Zaire strain.
The DRC–Uganda outbreak poses a public health risk to other countries, with some cases of international spread already documented, the agency said. It advised countries to activate national disaster and emergency management mechanisms and to carry out cross-border screening as well as screening on major internal roads.
In Uganda’s capital, Kampala, two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed cases — including one death — were reported on Friday and Saturday in individuals who had travelled from the DRC, the WHO said.
A laboratory-confirmed case was also reported in the DRC’s capital, Kinshasa, involving a person returning from Ituri.
The WHO said contacts or confirmed cases of Bundibugyo virus disease should not travel internationally unless as part of a medical evacuation.
The agency advised immediate isolation of confirmed cases and daily monitoring of contacts, with restricted national movement and no international travel until 21 days after exposure.
At the same time, the WHO urged countries not to close borders or restrict travel and trade out of fear, as this could lead to unmonitored informal crossings by people and goods.
The DRC’s dense tropical forests are considered a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus.
The often-fatal disease, which causes fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhoea, spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals, contaminated materials, or the bodies of those who have died from the disease, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.