WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak has already reached more than 500 suspected cases and at least 130 suspected deaths, more than double the figures initially reported when the outbreak was publicly announced days ago.
“This is the first time a director general has declared a PHEIC before convening an emergency committee,” Tedros said, referring to the WHO’s declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. “I did not do this lightly … I’m deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic.”
The outbreak is centered in the conflict-hit provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, regions already struggling with armed violence, weak healthcare systems and large-scale displacement.
Health officials fear those conditions could make containment far more difficult than in previous outbreaks.
The current outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare form of the virus first identified in Uganda in 2007.
