WHO Says No Grounds To Declare Emergency Of International Concern Amid DRC Ebola Outbreak

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2018) The spread of the Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains an issue that demands serious attention, however there are no grounds yet to declare a public health emergency of international concern, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the WHO chief convened a meeting of the Emergency Committee to discuss the situation around the Ebola outbreak in the African country.

"I have accepted the Emergency Committee's recommendation not to declare a public health emergency of international concern. But this does not mean WHO is not taking the #Ebola outbreak in #DRC seriously.

We still have more than 250 people working in DRC to end this outbreak," Tedros tweeted.

He also noted that the security situation in the country, certain mistrust within the local community and geographic spread of the decease were the main factors hampering efforts to counter the outbreak.

The most recent outbreak of Ebola in DRC was registered on August 1, mostly hitting the Ituri and North Kivu provinces and coming just months after the previous outbreak that took place in May and claimed the lives of 33 people.

According to WHO, a total of 216 cases have been registered as part of the latest outbreak, including 139 deaths.