WHO Declares Public Health Emergency Over Ebola Outbreak In Congo, Uganda

The AP (5/17, Asadu, Mwanamilongo) reports the World Health Organization “declared the Ebola disease outbreak caused by a rare virus in Congo and neighboring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.” WHO said in a post on X “that a laboratory-confirmed case has also been reported in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, which is about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the outbreak’s epicenter in the eastern province of Ituri, suggesting a possible wider spread.” The international agency also “said the outbreak doesn’t meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like COVID-19, and advised against the closure of international borders.” In a separate X statement on Sunday, the WHO Regional Office for Africa “said that a team of 35 experts from the WHO and the Congolese Ministry of Health had arrived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, along with 7 tons of emergency medical supplies and equipment.” Reuters (5/17, Mishra, Khushi) reports the WHO on Sunday “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. One ​case was confirmed in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, a statement by M23 rebels said.” The agency “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.”