WHO Ebola Emergency Declaration Seeks to Spur Global Response

The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, seeking to mobilize support against a rare virus strain that likely has spread for weeks undetected and has no approved vaccine or treatment.

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.