World Health Organization Declares International Public Health Emergency Due to Ebola Outbreak in DRC and Uganda
Situation Report
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on Sunday due to a surge in Ebola virus cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. The organization's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has determined that the Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo strain in the DRC and Uganda constitutes a PHEIC, although it does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency.
Objectives
The purpose of this declaration is to put neighboring countries on high alert and mobilize international community support.
Situation in the DRC and Uganda
According to the WHO, at least eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases, and 80 suspected deaths had been reported in the Ituri province of the DRC as of Saturday. The Ituri province is located in the northeastern part of the DRC and borders Uganda and South Sudan. The WHO also reported two laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, in Kampala, Uganda, within a 24-hour period on May 15-16, 2026. These two cases, with no apparent epidemiological link between them, involved individuals who had traveled from the DRC.
Ebola Virus Transmission
Considered a potentially deadly infectious disease, the Ebola virus is transmitted through direct physical contact and contact with bodily fluids. According to the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, the mortality rate of Ebola can reach 90% if infected individuals are not immediately treated. It is worth noting that over 11,000 people died during the major outbreak in West Africa in 2014 and 2015. In the DRC, the most recent cases occurred in September, during which 45 people died in the Kasaï province in the southwestern part of the country, marking the 16th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since 1976.
