The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak spreading through Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, after officials recorded more than 250 suspected cases and at least 80 suspected deaths linked to the disease.
Officials warned that the true scope of the outbreak could be significantly larger than reported figures indicate, as health workers raced to intensify screening and contact tracing. The Africa CDC reported 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths in Congo, while regional health officials said at a news conference Saturday that they had identified upwards of 300 probable cases overall.
The WHO said the outbreak fell short of the criteria for a pandemic emergency, like COVID-19, and advised against closing international borders. As of Saturday, eight laboratory-confirmed cases had been identified in Congo's eastern province of Ituri, the outbreak's epicenter. Two additional laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, were reported in Kampala, Uganda within a day of each other. Those cases were confirmed in people who had traveled from Congo and had, according to the WHO, "no apparent link to each other."
"Every day, people are dying ... and this has been going on for about a week. In a single day, we bury two, three or even more people," said Jean Marc Asimwe, a resident of Bunia, Ituri's capital.
Test results confirmed the pathogen is the Bundibugyo virus, a variant of Ebola that has been less prominent in Congo's history of outbreaks. This marks the country's 17th Ebola outbreak since the disease first emerged there in 1976.
According to CBS News, the Bundibugyo strain has been responsible for only two previous Ebola outbreaks. One occurred in Uganda in 2007 and resulted in 55 cases. The other occurred in Congo in 2012 and produced 57 cases. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for this strain. CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder noted that medical professionals appear very concerned about the ability to contain it.
The suspected index case is a nurse who died at a hospital in Bunia. Congolese Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said the case dates back to April 24 and that the person presented symptoms consistent with Ebola.
Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids including vomit, blood and semen. The disease is rare but severe and frequently fatal.