The number of victims from Ebola, O BSH warns of worsening situation

Fifty of a case has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the first case was reported and two cases in Uganda, WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebrreesus said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, he said that the explosion of Ebola's Bundibugyo type would probably have started “a few months ago”.

On Sunday, WHO declared a state of emergency health of international importance, but said the situation has not reached a pandemic level.

Ghebrerses said that after the emergency committee's meeting Tuesday, the health organisation agreed that the “situation is not a pandemic emergency”.

“O BSH estimates the risk of the epidemic is high at national and regional level, but low on the global level --” he explained.

The 51 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo are located in the eastern province of Ituri éthere of the explosion, and in the North Kivu province as from the two confirmed cases in Uganda's capital, Kampala, both had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo and one has died.

“We know that the extent of the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is much larger,” said WHO chief, adding that even health care workers are among the victims, which is particularly disturbing.

An O official The BSH said investigations are continuing to understand how long the virus has been spreading, but the priority remains the transmission ban.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing its 17th Ebola explosion, but the type Bundibugyo ) which has not occurred for more than a decade brings particular difficulties.

Bungingbugyo has caused only two previous explosions, killing about a third of the infected.

There is not yet a vaccine approved for Bundibugyo, but experimental vaccines are under way. It is possible that vaccines for another kind, Zaire, with which the country has often faced a measure of protection.

There are also no specific drugs targeting Bundibugyo, making treatment more difficult.