WHO says Ebola is not a 'pandemic emergency'

Geneva – The risk of Ebola is ‘high at national and regional levels, and low at the global level,’ and this situation is not ‘a pandemic emergency,’ the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday (20 May). WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), but not a pandemic emergency.

During a press conference, the Director-General said that the WHO Emergency Committee met on Tuesday (19 May) and agreed with the earlier assessment that the Ebola situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a PHEIC, but not a pandemic emergency. Tedros previously on Sunday (17 May) announced the PHEIC status for the outbreak in both countries, marking the first time a WHO head has done so without first convening the Emergency Committee.

To date, 51 cases have been confirmed in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces of the DRC, Tedros said, noting that the scale of the outbreak in the DRC is much larger. In addition to confirmed cases, there are nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths, he said. He noted that the WHO expects the number to continue to rise, given the virus had spread for some time before the outbreak was detected. Tedros said it was urgent to act promptly to prevent further deaths and mobilise an effective and international response.

The WHO has deployed personnel, supplies, equipment, and funds to support national authorities in responding to this situation, he said. Uganda has also informed the WHO of two confirmed cases in the capital Kampala, including one death, among two people who had travelled from the DRC to Uganda, he added, noting that an American citizen working in the DRC has also tested positive.

The Director-General said that he had approved an additional US$3.4 million from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies, bringing the total to US$3.9 million.