World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press conference on the Ebola disease outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday. Photo by Martial Trezzini/EPA
May 22 (UPI) -- World Health Organization Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday that the suspected number of deaths from an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is 177, far surpassing the seven confirmed deaths.
During an update on Friday, the WHO raised the risk of the Ebola outbreak in the DRC to "very high."
The organization deemed the spread of the virus an emergency of international concern on Sunday. The international health organization, which is an arm of the United Nations, said the outbreak doesn't meet the criteria of a pandemic, but the spread of the virus could be bigger than currently known.
There have been 82 confirmed non-fatal cases, which experts think could be as high as 750. In Uganda, there are two confirmed cases and one death.
