MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

WHO warns of “magnitude and speed” of Ebola outbreak in Congo with 131 deaths and cases in Uganda

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, an Ebola species for which no approved vaccines or treatments exist

The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Tuesday before the World Health Assembly meeting in Geneva that “the magnitude and speed” with which the Ebola outbreak is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are alarming, with more than 543 suspected cases, 131 deaths linked to transmission, and 33 laboratory-confirmed infections. Two further cases have been confirmed in neighboring Uganda, both involving Congolese citizens who had crossed the border, one of whom has died. The WHO director convened the organization's Emergency Committee to formulate containment recommendations.

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, an Ebola species for which no approved vaccines or treatments exist. The WHO representative in the DRC, Anne Ancia, said a vaccine could be developed in approximately two months, in coordination with academic institutions such as the University of Oxford, although she warned that the Ervebo vaccine produced by Merck and pre-qualified by the WHO is only effective against the Zaire strain detected in 2019. Diagnostic capacity is limited: only six tests per hour can currently be carried out to detect the new strain. The agency has shipped twelve tons of medical supplies to the country and six more were scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.

The epicenter is located in Ituri province, on the border with Uganda and South Sudan, devastated by armed-group violence that has forced mass displacements. The WHO identifies as additional propagation factors the presence of cases in urban areas, including Kampala and Goma, and the mobility associated with mining activity. DRC President Félix Tshisekedi called on the population to remain calm. On Sunday, for the first time since the entry into force of the International Health Regulations revised after the covid-19 pandemic, a director general declared a public health emergency of international concern without first convening the Emergency Committee.

Despite WHO recommendations against border closures, several countries have adopted restrictive measures. The United States suspended for thirty days the entry of non-US travelers arriving from the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan. Bahrain and Jordan implemented similar suspensions. Uganda restricted the Ishasha-Kyeshero border crossing, and Rwandan authorities detained Congolese citizens attempting to cross from Goma and Bukavu, according to the Reuters news agency.

Germany announced it will receive and treat a US missionary doctor, Peter Stafford of the Serge organization, infected at Nyankunde Hospital, southwest of Bunia. The former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Thomas Frieden, expressed concern over cuts to the agency under President Donald Trump's administration, which formally withdrew the country from the WHO in January.