All you might want to know on WHO’s world emergency announcement as no vaccine virus kills 80

Need to know

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a new virus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) — the most severe global health warning under international law

• The World Health Organisation has declared a deadly new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern – the most severe global health warning under international law.
• A new strain of Ebola with no available vaccine is sweeping across both countries, sparking the emergency declaration. At least 246 suspected cases and over 80 deaths have been reported in Congo’s Ituri province, according to African health authorities.
• The outbreak is concentrated around the mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara, though suspected infections have also surfaced in the provincial capital Bunia. Uganda has confirmed a deadly imported case involving a Congolese patient who travelled to Kampala for treatment before succumbing to the disease.
• The WHO stated the outbreak “meets the criteria for a coordinated international response due to the potential for regional spread and the operational challenges confronting health workers on the ground.” However officials refrained from categorising it as a pandemic emergency.
• The Bundibugyo strain is particularly concerning as there are currently no approved vaccines specifically targeting it. Most existing Ebola vaccines were developed for the more common Zaire strain.
• Health experts have voiced concerns over the security situation in eastern Congo, where armed groups, mass displacement and poor sanitation are complicating containment efforts. This marks Congo’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified there in 1976.
• READ THE FULL STORY: WHO declares global health emergency as virus strain with no known vaccine kills 80