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The Ebola Outbreak in Africa Was Declared a Global Health Emergency by the WHO. Here's What to Know About the Rare but Severe Illness
Key takeaways
- A visitor washes his hands before entering a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of Ebola prevention measures.
- Still, the agency stresses that the event “does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency,” such as Covid-19, and recommends that countries keep their borders open.
- The DRC has reported ten laboratory-confirmed cases of an Ebola-causing virus, as well as more than 300 suspected cases and almost 90 suspected deaths, per the CDC.
A visitor washes his hands before entering a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of Ebola prevention measures. Jospin Mwisha / AFP via Getty Images On May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that an outbreak of the rare but deadly disease Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is a public health emergency of international concern.
Still, the agency stresses that the event “does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency,” such as Covid-19, and recommends that countries keep their borders open. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that the current risk of Ebola to the American public is low.
The DRC has reported ten laboratory-confirmed cases of an Ebola-causing virus, as well as more than 300 suspected cases and almost 90 suspected deaths, per the CDC. Two additional cases, including one death, were confirmed in Uganda among individuals who had traveled to the DRC. However, there are probably many more cases than what has been reported so far, per the Associated Press’ Chinedu Asadu and Saleh Mwanamilongo.