The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a global health emergency, warning that the virus could be spreading more widely than official figures currently show.
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The declaration follows confirmed outbreaks caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in both countries, with cases now detected across multiple locations, including capital cities.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the decision after consultations with authorities in the affected nations, saying the outbreak now constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, though it does not yet qualify as a pandemic emergency.
In the DRC, authorities have recorded eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected infections and 80 suspected deaths across three health zones in Ituri Province Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
Uganda confirmed two Ebola cases in Kampala, including one death involving travellers from the DRC. Another confirmed infection was also detected in Kinshasa involving a returnee from Ituri Province.
The outbreak has heightened fears within the health sector, with at least four healthcare workers reported dead from symptoms linked to viral haemorrhagic fever.
WHO said the deaths point to possible transmission inside health facilities and expose weaknesses in infection prevention and control systems.
Tedros warned that the actual scale of the outbreak may be significantly higher than reported figures indicate.
“The high positivity rate from early samples, confirmed cross-border cases and increasing reports of suspected infections suggest a potentially much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected,” he said.
The global health agency identified insecurity, humanitarian pressures, population movement and a dense network of informal healthcare facilities as major factors driving the spread, drawing comparisons with the devastating 2018–2019 Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo.
WHO also raised concern over the absence of approved vaccines and treatments specifically designed for the Bundibugyo strain, unlike the Ebola-Zaire variant.
Neighbouring countries sharing borders with the DRC have been classified as high-risk areas because of active trade routes, migration patterns and continuing uncertainty around the outbreak’s scope.
The organisation urged both governments to activate emergency response systems, expand surveillance and contact tracing operations, and establish specialised treatment centres close to outbreak hotspots.
WHO further called for stricter screening at airports, seaports and major land crossings, insisting that confirmed patients must not travel until they produce two negative test results taken at least 48 hours apart.
Despite the growing threat, the agency advised countries against shutting borders or imposing travel and trade restrictions.
According to the WHO, such measures are often driven by fear rather than science and can force movement through unregulated border routes, increasing the risk of transmission.
The organisation also called for urgent clinical trials for potential vaccines and therapeutics and recommended postponing mass gatherings in affected areas until the outbreak is contained.
Tedros said an Emergency Committee would be convened to review the evolving crisis and strengthen temporary response measures.
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