WHO declares – The World Health Organization has labeled a new Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo a public health emergency of international concern, while its director-general warned it does not meet the threshold for a pandemic emergency and urged countries not to close borde
Ambulances lined up outside a hospital in Bunia on Saturday as health authorities tried to contain a fast-moving threat that. by Monday’s announcement. had already reached beyond Congo’s borders.. On Sunday. the World Health Organization declared a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a public health emergency of international concern.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, but said the outbreak “does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency.” In the same statement, he advised countries against closing their borders.
The outbreak was first reported in the DRC’s eastern Ituri province on Friday. Officials have already logged hundreds of suspected cases, including one that crossed the border into Uganda. The strain has no vaccine available, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
Ebola spreads through blood and other bodily fluids as well as contaminated surfaces. and the WHO lists symptoms including fever. body pain. weakness. vomiting “and. in some cases. bleeding.” Health officials believe the outbreak began in late April.. Dr.. Jean Kaseya. Africa CDC director general. said during a Saturday press conference conducted by video call that there are now 336 suspected cases and 87 deaths.
So far, detections have been concentrated in two mining towns—Mongwalu and Rwampara—where large numbers of people come and go for work. Kaseya described the setting in stark terms: “We are talking about a region that is a very vulnerable and fragile region.”
The border crossing brought the stakes into sharper relief. On May 14, a 59-year-old Congolese man died from the virus in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Kaseya said he was likely in contact with many people before his death and emphasized the importance of protective equipment.
Kaseya said: “Someone came from DRC. landed in Uganda. went to hospital.” He added. “He was sick in this community and he was surrounded by a number of people.. He took public transportation to Uganda.” The man died in the hospital. then his body was transported back across the border to the DRC for burial. Kaseya said.
In a disease outbreak like this, the difference between exposure and safety often comes down to equipment.. Infectious disease experts recommend healthcare workers dealing with Ebola patients wear head coverings. along with goggles. masks or face shields. gloves. gowns and even rubber boots.. Kaseya said he did not know what type of protective gear those who had come in contact with the man used to avoid contracting the virus.
“We don’t have manufacturing for PPE,” he said, adding that his team says funds are needed and that it is working on solving the problem.
Officials also said it is not yet clear how quickly the virus is spreading.. They pointed to two previous outbreaks of this strain—called Bundibugyo—but said it is less common than the Zaire strain. meaning it is less well understood and there is no known vaccine.. Even so, Kaseya said researchers have an experimental vaccine candidate that they are continuing to study.. “We know it was only tested [on] some monkeys. ” he said. adding it has so far shown an efficacy rate of around 50%. though its potential in human patients has not yet been assessed.
The Africa CDC said it is moving on multiple fronts. In a statement posted on its website, it said it has been working with various health organizations, nonprofits and pharmaceutical companies “to reinforce cross-border surveillance, preparedness and outbreak response efforts.”
One concern voiced publicly from researchers is how much time may have been lost before officials recognized the danger.. Dr.. Craig Spencer. a professor at the Brown University of Public Health who contracted the Zaire strain of the virus in 2014 while working with Doctors Without Borders. wrote on X that the outbreak is already large despite health officials recognizing it only recently.. “This means we’re just learning about this outbreak long after its [sic] already been spreading.. This makes it harder to find contacts and all the cases.”
The timing of recognition and the movement of people appear to be key threads in the reporting so far: the outbreak was first reported in Ituri on Friday. officials believe it started in late April. and the May 14 Kampala death involved travel from DRC into Uganda and public transportation within the community.
For readers trying to place the current emergency in the broader history of Ebola. the WHO included numbers from the largest outbreak it has recorded.. Between 2014 and 2016. 28. 600 people were infected and 11. 325 people died during that outbreak. which began in Guinea and spread to Sierra Leone. Liberia and several other countries outside the region.
WHO Ebola Democratic Republic of Congo Ituri Africa CDC Uganda public health emergency of international concern PPE experimental vaccine
So it’s “not a pandemic” but they’re still freaking out? Make it make sense.
I saw Uganda mentioned and now everybody will close borders anyway, watch. They always say don’t close the border right before they do.
Wait the article says no vaccine but also says WHO is declaring it an emergency… isn’t that basically the same thing as a pandemic warning? Also how did it jump borders if they’re urging not closing them like that helps? People are gonna ignore it until it’s here.
Ebola in Congo again?? I swear this stuff never ends, mining towns, contaminated surfaces, blood fluids… okay but I’m confused because they say it doesn’t meet “criteria” for a pandemic emergency. So what threshold are they waiting for, more than 87 deaths? And if there’s hundreds suspected cases why not just treat everyone? Seems like politics more than health.