STORY: The WHO says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is a "public health emergency of international concern" - and poses a risk to neighboring countries.
The outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus is "extraordinary", the UN health agency said on Sunday, as there are no approved specific therapeutics or vaccines, unlike for previous Ebola-Zaire strains.
It comes a day after the DRC reported at least 80 suspected Ebola deaths and nearly 250 suspected cases in its Ituri province.
This is the 17th outbreak in the country, where the disease was first identified in 1976.
:: June 2019
Neighboring Uganda has reported at least two apparently unrelated cases, including one death, involving people who had traveled from the DRC.
The WHO warned that the number of people infected could be much larger, given the high positivity rate of the initial samples and the growing number of suspected cases being reported.
But, it said, the current outbreak does not amount to a pandemic.
:: March 2019
The highly contagious virus causes fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea.
It spreads through direct contact with contaminated materials or bodily fluids, or people who have died from the disease.
The WHO says people infected have to isolate and their contacts should not travel.
The health agency is urging countries not to close their borders or restrict travel, as this could lead to people making informal border crossings that are not monitored.
The global emergency status aims to beef up international public health measures, cooperation and funding to contain a major outbreak.
