The pinnacle of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday that the chance of worldwide spread of the Ebola outbreak within the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is high on the national and regional levels but low at the worldwide level.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 51 cases have been confirmed in Congo’s northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, “although we all know the dimensions of the epidemic is way larger.”
During a media briefing on Wednesday, Ghebreyesus said Uganda has told the UN health agency of two confirmed cases within the country’s capital, Kampala.
“Beyond the confirmed cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths,” he said. “We expect those numbers to maintain increasing.”
Ghebreyesus said he declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) over the epidemic of Ebola disease within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda on Sunday.
“That is the primary time a Director-General has declared a PHEIC before convening an Emergency Committee. I took this step in accordance with Article 12 of the International Health Regulations (IHR), after consulting the Ministers of Health of DRC and Uganda, and in view of the necessity for urgent motion,” he said on Wednesday.
He said he determined that the situation was “not a pandemic emergency, which is the brand new and highest classification under the amended International Health Regulations.”
After declaring the general public health emergency of international concern, Ghebreyesus convened an emergency committee under the IHR, which met on Tuesday.
The committee agreed that the situation is a public health emergency of international concern, “but will not be a pandemic emergency.”
“WHO assesses the chance of the epidemic as high on the national and regional levels, and low at the worldwide level,” Ghebreyesus added.
What’s concerning officials essentially the most about Ebola?
On Wednesday, the WHO director-general said there are several aspects that “warrant serious concern concerning the potential for further spread and further deaths.”
“First, beyond the confirmed Ebola cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths. We expect those numbers to maintain increasing, given the period of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected,” he said.
The epidemic has also expanded, with cases reported in several urban areas, based on Ghebreyesus.
“Deaths have been reported amongst medical examiners, indicating healthcare-associated transmission,” he said, adding that there’s “significant population movement in the world.”
“The province of Ituri is extremely insecure. Conflict has intensified since late 2025, and fighting has escalated significantly over the past two months, with over 100,000 people newly displaced,” Ghebreyesus continued. “The world can also be a mining zone, with high levels of population movement that increase the chance of further spread.”
Ghebreyesus said the epidemic is attributable to Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola virus for which there aren’t any approved vaccines or therapeutics.
“In light of all these risks, I made a decision it was urgent to act immediately to stop more deaths and mobilize an efficient and international response,” he added.
The WHO thanked the federal government of the DRC, the National Institute for Biomedical Research, the National Institute of Public Health and native health authorities within the affected areas for his or her leadership and co-operation.
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Ghebreyesus also thanked the federal government of Uganda for postponing the annual Martyrs’ Day celebrations, which might attract as much as two million people, due to the risk posed by the epidemic.
“WHO has a team on the bottom supporting national authorities to reply. We have now deployed people, supplies, equipment and funds,” he said.
In an effort to proceed to support the response, Ghebreyesus said he approved an extra US$3.4 million from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies, bringing the entire to $3.9 million.
“Within the absence of vaccines and therapeutics, there are numerous other measures countries can take to stop the spread of the virus and save lives, which the Emergency Committee has outlined in its temporary recommendations,” he said.
‘A whole lot of uncertainty’ about vaccine potential
While essentially the most common type of Ebola, the Zaire strain, does have an approved vaccine, Bundibugyo currently doesn’t have approved vaccines or therapeutics.
Vasee Moorthy, the WHO’s senior science and strategy advisor, said Wednesday that one vaccine candidate was six to nine months away from being available for clinical trials.
One other is being developed by the University of Oxford and India’s Serum Institute and was having doses “manufactured as we speak,” he added.
But Moorthy said there was no data from animal testing to support the vaccine.
“It is feasible that doses might be available for clinical trial in two to a few months but there’s plenty of uncertainty about whether that could be a promising candidate,” he said.
“It is going to rely on the animal data on whether that’s considered a promising candidate research vaccine for Bundibugyo, in order that’s what I’d say concerning the pipeline now.”
The WHO’s Dr. Anaïs Legand said the priority at once is to assist arrange optimized treatment centres to make sure that every suspected case may be detected early and cared for while they’re preparing for the upcoming trial.
Two Americans flown to Europe for treatment
A U.S. national who tested positive for the virus in Congo arrived in Berlin on Wednesday for treatment in a special isolation ward.
“An American national who was working in DRC has also been confirmed positive, and been transferred to Germany,” Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.
A “comprehensive examination” was going down to find out how you can proceed with treatment, German Health Ministry spokesperson Martin Elsässer told The Associated Press. He said he wouldn’t comment on the patient’s condition. The German authorities and the U.S. CDC haven’t identified the patient.
Individually, Christian aid organization Serge said one in every of its doctors — which it identified as American medical missionary Dr. Peter Stafford — had been evacuated from Congo and is “receiving specialized medical treatment” after he developed Ebola symptoms.
Serge announced Wednesday that each one the organization’s employees with “potential exposure have been safely evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
“We received confirmation that Dr. Peter Stafford safely arrived at Charite University Hospital in Germany, where he’ll receive the very best level of clinical care and treatment,” said Dr. Scott Myhre, Serge area director for East and Central Africa.
“The complex, coordinated efforts of many government agencies and international health authorities resulted in Peter Stafford’s secure transport and the protection of those involved in his transfer. Serge leadership extends their deepest gratitude to all involved in Peter’s care and is praying for all involved within the fight to finish this ebolavirus outbreak for the great of the people of the DRC.”
Stafford, a 39-year-old board-certified general surgeon with a specialization in burn care, tested positive for Bundibugyo Ebola virus after serving patients in Bunia before the outbreak was identified.
Stafford’s 38-year-old wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and their 4 young children, together with Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, 46, have also departed DRC and are en path to other locations where they may be monitored in close proximity to expert care if needed, Serge said.
Marco Rubio says WHO was ‘just a little late’ in identifying Ebola outbreak
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that the Trump administration would “lean into” Ebola response efforts with a priority on funding 50 emergency clinics in affected areas. The U.S. has contributed $13 million to the hassle and Rubio said more would come.
Rubio also said the WHO was “just a little late” in identifying the Ebola outbreak.
When asked about Rubio’s comments on Wednesday, WHO’s Legand said that as soon because the organization was aware of the outbreak, it began to research “as quickly as possible.”
“Investigations are ongoing to find out when and where this outbreak began. Given the dimensions, we’re considering that it had began probably a few months ago,” she added.
Legand said the priority is to “cut the transmission chain by implementing contact tracing, isolating and caring for all suspected and confirmed cases.”
“This could be very vital, perhaps, on what the secretary said, it might be from lack of awareness how the IHR works and the responsibilities of WHO and other entities,” the WHO director-general added.
Ghebreyesus said the WHO doesn’t replace the countries’ work, but does support them.
“That’s why there might be some lack of awareness. But then, after all, there’s a delay in detection and there are numerous aspects here,” Ghebreyesus said, before listing the aspects as security as a result of conflict within the DRC and Uganda in addition to displacement.
“Health facilities cannot work optimally when there’s conflict and when the medical examiners are also fleeing as a part of the community which is displaced,” he added.
Ghebreyesus said it’s very difficult to “follow a simplistic approach and say blame this or that.”
“It’s very vital to know the complexity and before we conclude, bring all of the aspects into some type of understanding of the complexity. It’s not that easy,” he said. “From our side, we don’t replace countries. That is the countries’ responsibility, every country. But we support them.”
How Bundibugyo virus is spread
Ebola disease is a severe, often fatal illness that affects humans and other primates, based on the WHO.
The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals, similar to fruit bats, porcupines and non-human primates, including gorillas, monkeys and chimpanzees, after which spreads within the human population through direct contact with blood, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people and with surfaces and materials, similar to clothing and bedding, contaminated with the fluids.
Bundibugyo has caused two other outbreaks in the identical region of the Congo River basin, said Dr. Tom Ksiazek, a University of Texas Medical Branch virologist and veterinarian. He directed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Special Pathogens Branch.
The Bundibugyo virus was first detected in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district during a 2007-08 outbreak that infected 149 people and killed 37. The second time was in 2012, in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.
The virus is spread the identical way as other Ebola viruses: through close contact with sick or deceased patients’ bodily fluids, similar to sweat, blood, feces or vomit. Health-care employees and members of the family caring for sick patients face the very best risk, experts said.
From the few outbreaks health experts have seen, Bundibugyo could be barely less deadly than what is usually called the Zaire virus, essentially the most common species.
On Tuesday, the WHO’s Dr. Anne Ancia said Bundibugyo virus is one with “no licensed vaccines or treatment.”
“I don’t think that we’ve the ‘patient zero’ for now. What we all know is that on [the] fifth of May, there was a one that died in Bunia. The body was brought back in Mongbwalu. That body was put in a coffin after which the family decided that the coffin was not definitely worth the person, and due to this fact what they did, they modified the coffin,” Ancia said.
“Then there was the funeral and it’s from where it began. That’s what we all know obviously. Now we’ve diagnosed it and we actually need to go fast to actually attempt to stop the spread of disease further.”
— with files from The Associated Press