WHO declares Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak a PHEIC in DRC and Uganda

The World Health Organization has determined that the Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The designation reflects cross-border transmission, clusters of deaths, and healthcare worker infections amid uncertainty about the outbreak’s true extent, and notes there are currently no Bundibugyo-specific vaccines or therapeutics. WHO will convene an Emergency Committee to advise on temporary recommendations and urges coordinated national action, strengthened surveillance and laboratory capacity, infection prevention and control, risk communication, and cross-border preparedness, while advising against broad travel restrictions that could hinder response.