WHO ways Congo Ebola outbreak poses high regional risk but not a global pandemic

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday that the risk level of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains high within the country and across the wider region, but low at the global level.

WHO experts noted that investigations into the origin of the outbreak are still ongoing. However, they believe the virus may have been circulating for several months before it was detected, given the extent of its spread in eastern DRC.

The UN health agency’s emergency committee said the situation does not currently meet the threshold for a global pandemic emergency.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organisation assesses the outbreak risk as “high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level.”

According to him, 51 confirmed Ebola cases have been reported so far in eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, though officials suspect the actual scale may be larger. He added that Uganda has also reported two confirmed cases in Kampala, including one death, while a US citizen infected in the DRC has been evacuated to Germany for treatment.

Tedros warned that the situation remains concerning, pointing to nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths, and said the numbers could still rise as the outbreak likely spread undetected for some time.

On Sunday, WHO had already declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the second-highest alert level under international health regulations.

The WHO emergency committee met on Tuesday to reassess the situation. Committee chair Lucille Blumberg said the criteria for a global pandemic emergency had not been met, although the outbreak still requires urgent response measures such as contact tracing, isolation, and treatment.