By GMA News Published May 18, 2026 5:21am + Add GMA on Google Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google. The Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday said it is coordinating with the World Health Organization (WHO) following the declaration of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda as a “public health emergency of international concern.”In a statement released by Health Undersecretary and spokesperson Dr. Albert Domingo, the DOH said the WHO’s advice is clear for countries like the Philippines “where there is no Bundibugyo and that does not share a land border with countries that have Bundibugyo.”The WHO said countries that don’t share land borders with nations that have the Bundibugyo virus, should, among others, provide travelers to Bundibugyo-affected areas with “relevant information on risks, measures to minimize those risks, and advice for managing a potential exposure.”They should be also ready to evacuate and repatriate nationals exposed to the Bundibugyo virus.“Among others, the general public should be provided with accurate and reliable information on the Bundibugyo outbreak and ongoing measures to reduce risk,” the DOH said.It added: “The DOH is always ready and on alert. We have been notified through the IHR (International Health Regulations) channels, and are in active coordination with the WHO.”The agency made the remarks after the DOH earlier on Sunday declared an Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, saying the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus.The WHO said the outbreak does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency but that countries sharing land borders with the DRC are at high risk for further spread.It added 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.In 2014, the West Africa Ebola epidemic prompted a 21-day quarantine for Filipino United Nations (UN) peacekeepers then returning from Liberia.The DOH noted that the “virus did not spread and no one died of it in the Philippines,” with the WHO lifting the declaration of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in 2016. — JMA, GMA News