The World Health Organization has declared the escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.
According to NBC News, there was increasing global alarm Monday over an Ebola virus outbreak in central Africa that the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
More than 300 suspected cases and 88 suspected deaths have so far been reported, primarily in Congo but also in neighboring Uganda.
The WHO says the risk of the outbreak causing a pandemic is extremely low, but that it nonetheless poses significant risk to the surrounding region.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Sunday that a “small number of Americans who are directly affected by this outbreak” were being withdrawn from the area.
The outbreak has been identified as a rare type of Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus.
WHO said, spread by bodily fluids, Ebola is highly contagious and often fatal, killing between 30% and 50% of those it infects, and causing symptoms such as fever, rash and vomiting.
The WHO said in a statement Sunday, “There are significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time.”
Congo closed its land border with Rwanda on Sunday, May 17.
Meanwhile, US health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are mobilizing a response to the outbreak.
The CDC is supporting the safe withdrawal of a small number of Americans who are directly affected by this outbreak.
Reports indicate several Americans in the DRC may have been exposed to suspected Ebola cases, with some deemed high-risk and one individual potentially developing symptoms.
