(Congo, 17th) — The World Health Organization has announced that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern' (PHEIC).
On the 17th, WHO announced that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, now constitutes a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern.'
PHEIC is declared by the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, composed of WHO international experts; since 2009, there have been a total of 8 PHEIC events, including the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the 2018 Congo Ebola outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic, etc., which require review every three months.
WHO says this outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on the 16th that this Ebola outbreak has so far seen 336 suspected cases and 88 deaths reported.
This new wave of Ebola virus infections has already spread to Uganda, a neighboring country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Minister of Health, Kamba, warned: “There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo virus. This viral strain has a very high fatality rate, reaching up to 50%.”
Ebola is a zoonotic virus, mainly transmitted through the bodily fluids of patients, such as blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva, or semen.
The Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the virus is currently the world’s most lethal viral hemorrhagic fever, and the main causes of death include stroke, myocardial infarction, hypovolemic shock, or multiple organ failure. The mortality rate is as high as 50% to 90%.