The World Health Organization on Saturday declared on Saturday that the spread of the Ebola virus in two African countries constituted a global health emergency.
The outbreak of the rare virus in Congo and neighboring Uganda caused a public health concern after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths, The Associated Press reported.
WHO officials said the outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency that was given to the COVID-19 virus, according to The New York Times.
The outbreak was first identified in Congo’s Ituri province, according to the newspaper. Health offiicals originally identified 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths, but only eight had been definitively linked to the virus via laboratory testing.
Cases were also confirmed in Uganda’s capital city of Kampala, the Times reported.
WHO officials said the possibility of an outbreak spreading is compounded by a humanitarian crisis in Africa, along with high population mobility and a large network of informal health care facilities in the area, according to the newspaper.
In a social media post, WHO said that a laboratory-confirmed case was reported in Congo’s capital city of Kinshasa, the AP said.
WHO said on X that a laboratory-confirmed case has also been reported in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, which is about 620 miles from Ituri.