IT·Science News

WHO declares rare Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a global emergency

The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Saturday 16 May, NUS Medicine in Singapore reported. The outbreak, first identified in Congo’s Ituri province, is caused by Bundibugyo virus, a rare type of Ebola. US broadcaster Action News Jax reported confirmed cases in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and a lab-confirmed case in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.

Counts were rising fast. WHO figures as of 15 May showed 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths, with only eight confirmed by lab tests; by 18 May the Associated Press reported more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths, Action News Jax said. WHO officials said the outbreak did not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, according to The New York Times.

“There are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for the Bundibugyo virus.” — NUS Medicine

How each outlet framed it

• Action News Jax — the spread: cases in two capital cities and counts climbing day by day.
• NUS Medicine — the medical gap: unlike other Ebola strains, this one has no approved vaccine, so early supportive care is critical.
• L’Orient Today — the process: the WHO chief declared the emergency without first consulting experts, a first, citing urgency; a committee in Geneva later confirmed it.

What happened next: by 20 May, L’Orient Today reported the WHO chief citing 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths, and expecting the numbers to rise.