WHO declares Ebola outbreak a global health emergency

The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a "public health emergency of international concern" following the deaths of at least 88 people and the reporting of more than 330 suspected cases across both nations. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, has spread primarily through eastern DR Congo's Ituri province, with confirmed cases also detected in Uganda's capital Kampala and DR Congo's capital Kinshasa, linked to travellers from affected areas. The current outbreak is causing particular concern among health officials because there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain. Existing vaccines, including Ervebo and Sabin Ebola Vaccine, were developed for the Zaire strain and offer no protection against this variant. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the Bundibugyo strain can have a fatality rate of up to 50 percent. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders has announced a large-scale response to the outbreak, which is complicating efforts to track infections and isolate patients, as the affected region sees significant population movement due to gold mining operations and cross-border trade, while armed groups continue to stage attacks in the area. Ebola, named after the river near the site of the first identified outbreak in what was then Zaire in 1976, has claimed more than 15,000 lives across Africa over the past five decades. The virus, believed to be carried naturally by fruit bats, spreads through direct contact with the body fluids of infected individuals, including during funeral rites. Symptoms typically appear between two and 21 days after infection and include fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and in some cases internal bleeding. The deadliest Ebola outbreak in history occurred between 2013 and 2016 in West Africa, killing more than 11,300 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. WHO has advised against closing international borders in response to the current outbreak, warning that such measures could push people to use informal crossings that are harder to monitor.