The World Health Organisation has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alarm for disease events that pose a risk beyond national borders. The declaration, issued on Saturday, comes as the outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus has claimed 87 lives and generated more than 330 suspected cases across three health zones in the country's volatile Ituri province.
"WHO is hereby determining that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, but does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency," the Geneva-based global health body said in a statement. The designation triggers international coordination mechanisms and compels member states to strengthen surveillance at borders and share information about the outbreak.
Officials first announced the outbreak on Friday, initially reporting 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases. By Saturday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had revised the figures upward to 336 suspected and 13 confirmed cases, with four deaths among the confirmed infections. Of the total 87 fatalities, 57 occurred in the Mongwalu health zone, 27 in the Rwampara health zone, and three in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri.
Africa CDC director-general Jean Kaseya told an online briefing that the first cases were reported in Mongwalu, a high-traffic mining area that attracts workers from across the region. "Cases subsequently migrated to Rwampara and Bunia as patients sought medical care, enabling spread across three health zones," he said. Kaseya warned that a high number of active cases remain within the local community, particularly in Mongwalu, "significantly complicating containment and contact tracing efforts."
The security situation in Ituri province presents a formidable obstacle to the emergency response. Self-proclaimed Islamic State-group-backed militants carry out frequent deadly attacks in the region, restricting surveillance operations and hindering the deployment of health workers. Ituri lies approximately 1,000 kilometres from the national capital Kinshasa, compounding the logistical challenges of delivering expertise and supplies to the affected areas.
Congolese health minister Samuel-Roger Kamba confirmed that laboratory results identified the Bundibugyo virus, a variant that has been less prominent in the country's previous outbreaks. The suspected index case is a nurse who died at a hospital in Bunia, with the case dating back to 24 April, approximately three weeks before the outbreak was officially declared. This marks the DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak since the virus first emerged in the country in 1976.
The outbreak has already crossed international borders. Uganda confirmed on Friday an Ebola case that authorities described as imported from Congo. The patient died at the Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Uganda's capital, Kampala, on 14 May. The Africa CDC had expressed concern about the risk of further spread due to the proximity of affected areas to both Uganda and South Sudan, raising the prospect of a wider regional crisis.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be transmitted through bodily fluids including blood, vomit, and semen. The disease is rare but severe and often fatal. While the DRC has extensive experience managing Ebola outbreaks, the combination of armed conflict, geographic remoteness, and cross-border spread has prompted the WHO to invoke its most serious emergency designation, signalling that international assistance and vigilance will be critical in the weeks ahead.