Ebola crisis in Congo, Uganda triggers WHO emergency response

The World Health Organization (WHO) has convened its emergency committee following an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the move in Geneva on May 18. Independent experts familiar with the disease are expected to issue recommendations later in the day on how to respond to the outbreak, dpa reports.

Tedros has already declared an international public health emergency due to the outbreak.

The rare Bundibugyo variant of the virus has been detected in Congo. According to the latest figures, there are 131 suspected Ebola deaths and 513 suspected cases. The WHO said there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for this variant.

Normally, the emergency committee meets at the outset of a potential threat, with the director-general awaiting its advice before declaring a public health emergency. In this case, however, Tedros said the situation was so urgent that he did not wait for the committee’s recommendation.

Declaring a public health emergency was not intended to cause panic, a WHO spokesman said in Geneva, but was aimed at informing countries of an urgent threat and strengthening international cooperation.

By Vafa Guliyeva