WHO Declares Congo Ebola Outbreak Global Health Emergency

The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, warning that a rare virus strain with no approved vaccine or treatment may already be spreading more widely than detected.

The outbreak caused by Bundibugyo ebolavirus met the threshold for its highest level of alarm under international health regulations because of cross-border transmission, unexplained clusters of deaths and major uncertainty about the scale of the epidemic, the WHO said Sunday.