19.08.2026 01:31
The World Health Organization has announced that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains a public health emergency of international concern. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for increased resources to fight the outbreak. According to health officials, the "Bundibugyo" Ebola variant, which emerged in May, has no approved treatment or vaccine.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made a statement regarding the Ebola outbreak.
"CONTINUES TO BE A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN"
Stating, "The Ebola outbreak continues to be a public health emergency of international concern in the DRC, in line with the recommendation of the WHO Emergency Committee meeting held today," Ghebreyesus called on all governments and partners to work as a whole, further intensify efforts, and multiply the resources needed to protect communities in the coming months.
Ghebreyesus noted that updated recommendations for the DRC government and other at-risk countries will be published in the coming days.
EBOLA CAUSED THE DEATHS OF THOUSANDS IN AFRICA
The Ebola virus, which causes a type of hemorrhagic fever, first emerged in 1976 through simultaneous outbreaks in the town of Nzara, Sudan, and the village of Yambuku, DRC.
The outbreak in the DRC was named after the virus because it started in a village near the Ebola River.
The Ebola virus spread in West Africa in December 2013. In the outbreak seen in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone between 2014-2017, 30,000 people were infected with the virus, and more than 11,000 patients lost their lives.
Following the announcement of 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths in the Ituri province in the east of the DRC, an outbreak was declared in the country on May 15.
NO TREATMENT OR VACCINE
According to health officials, there is no approved treatment or vaccine for the "Bundibugyo" Ebola variant that broke out in May.