WHO Says Ebola Outbreak Not "Pandemic Emergency"

GENEVA, May 20 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- The risk of the Ebola epidemic is "high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level," and the situation is not a "pandemic emergency," the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

Speaking at a press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that a WHO Emergency Committee met on Tuesday and agreed with his earlier assessment that the Ebola situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), but is not a pandemic emergency.

Tedros early on Sunday declared the PHEIC for the Ebola outbreak in the two countries, marking the first time a WHO chief had done so without first convening an Emergency Committee.

So far, 51 cases have been confirmed in the northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu of the DRC, said Tedros, adding that the scale of the epidemic in the DRC is much larger.

Uganda has also informed WHO of two confirmed cases in the capital Kampala, including one death, among two individuals who traveled from the DRC to Uganda, he said, adding that a United States (US) national working in the DRC has also been confirmed positive.

Beyond the confirmed cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths, said Tedros.

He said the WHO expects the numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected.

Tedros said that it was urgent to act immediately to prevent more deaths and mobilise an effective and international response.

The WHO has deployed people, supplies, equipment and funds to support national authorities to respond, he said.

The WHO chief said he has approved an additional US$3.4 million from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies, bringing the total to US$3.9 million.

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA