The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) poses a high risk at the national and regional levels but remains low globally.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said investigations into the outbreak were still ongoing, but early indications suggest the virus may have been circulating in eastern Congo for several months before detection.
Despite growing concerns, the WHO emergency committee stated that the outbreak does not currently meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency.
“WHO assesses the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level,” Tedros said during a press briefing at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva.
According to him, 51 confirmed Ebola cases have so far been recorded in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu in the DRC, although the actual scale of the outbreak is believed to be much larger.
Tedros also disclosed that Uganda had confirmed two Ebola cases in Kampala, including one death, while an American national working in the DRC tested positive and was transferred to Germany for treatment.
“There are several factors that warrant serious concern about the potential for further spread and further deaths,” he said.
“Beyond the confirmed cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths.
“We expect those numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected.”
On Sunday, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the second-highest alert level under the International Health Regulations, triggering emergency preparedness measures globally.
However, after meeting on Tuesday, the WHO emergency committee concluded that the situation had not reached the threshold for a pandemic declaration.
“The current situation and criteria for a public health emergency of international concern have been met, and we agree that the current situation does not satisfy the criteria for a pandemic emergency,” said Lucille Blumberg, chair of the committee, while addressing journalists from South Africa.
WHO technical officer on viral haemorrhagic fevers, Anais Legand, said investigations were continuing to determine how long the virus had been spreading in eastern Congo.
“Given the scale, we are thinking that it has started probably a couple of months ago, but investigations are ongoing and our priority is really to cut the transmission chain by implementing contact tracing, isolating and caring for all suspect and confirmed cases,” she said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticised the WHO’s handling of the outbreak, saying the agency was “a little late” in identifying the crisis.
Responding to the criticism, Tedros suggested the remarks may have stemmed from a misunderstanding of how the International Health Regulations work.
“Maybe what the secretary said… could be from lack of understanding of how IHR work, and the responsibilities of WHO and other entities,” he said, explaining that the WHO supports countries during outbreaks rather than replacing national authorities in response efforts.
