WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Africa public health emergency of international concern

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has been declared ​a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization, Reuters writes.

The WHO said the outbreak did not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency but there was a high risk the disease could spread further to countries sharing land borders with the DRC.

On Sunday, the UN health agency said in a statement that 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported as of Saturday in the DRC’s Ituri province.