By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has extended to Uganda, a global emergency. This was pronounced on Sunday by the global health body in a statement entitled, “Epidemic of Ebola Disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda determines a public health emergency of international concern.” According to the Director-General of WHO, the virus “constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), but does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency, as defined in the IHR,” a part of the statement reads.
According to the WHO, as of two days ago, there were about 246 suspected cases of infection. But so far, about 80 people have died from the virus in Congo. Within the same time frame, at least two cases were confirmed in Uganda, with one fatality recorded.
However, the statement expressed concern about the number of infected persons owing to “uncertainties.” “There are significant uncertainties regarding the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time. In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases.” These concerns, the global health body said, do not contravene the evidence of “high positive rate from initial samples collected,” where 8 out of 13 samples collected in different areas tested positive.
The global health body recommended high-level engagement and a coordinated response by the governments of Congo and Uganda to arrest the situation.
