Overview
- WHO, which made the declaration Sunday, said the event is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and stressed it is not a pandemic designation.
- Authorities now report about 88 deaths and roughly 336 suspected cases, with only a small number confirmed by lab tests so far.
- Health officials have confirmed cases in the major Congolese cities of Goma and Kinshasa, and Uganda has two confirmed patients in Kampala with at least one death.
- International support is scaling up as CDC plans relocations for a small number of directly affected Americans and MSF prepares a large-scale field response.
- Containment is harder because Bundibugyo has no approved vaccine or treatment and because conflict and displacement in eastern Congo hinder contact tracing and safe burials.