The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern. There have been 80 suspected deaths and nine laboratory-confirmed cases.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The WHO said it does not meet the criteria for a pandemic but poses a high risk to countries sharing land borders with the DRC.
On Sunday, the UN health agency reported 80 suspected deaths, eight confirmed cases, and 246 suspected cases in DRC's Ituri province as of Saturday.
A ninth case was confirmed in the eastern city of Goma, according to M23 rebels.
DRC's health ministry said on Friday that 80 people had died in the eastern province. This could be the 17th outbreak in the country, where Ebola was first identified in 1976.
The WHO noted that there are no approved therapeutics or vaccines for the Bundibugyo virus, unlike for Ebola-Zaire strains. All previous outbreaks in the country were caused by the Zaire strain.
The agency advised countries to implement screening at border crossings. In Uganda's capital Kampala, two unrelated laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, were reported from people traveling from the DRC.
The WHO confirmed that international spread has already been documented. DRC's dense tropical forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus.
