JAKARTA - The number of suspected Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has risen to 600, with 139 suspected deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed at a meeting of the WHO Emergency Committee in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday, the virus remains a public health emergency of international concern, but not a pandemic emergency.
"WHO assesses the risk of this epidemic to be high at the national and regional levels and low at the global level," Tedros said, citing Al Jazeera from AFP and Reuters.
The previous figure reported by DRC officials was an estimate of 131 deaths from 513 suspected cases. The outbreak comes just five months after DRC declared the previous epidemic to be over.
Meanwhile, WHO Emergency Chief Chikwe Ihekweazu, said at the same press conference "the organization's main priority at this time is to identify all existing chains of transmission."
"This will then allow us to really determine the scale of the outbreak and be able to provide care," Ihekweazu explained.
Tedros first declared a state of emergency on Sunday and said he did so without consulting other experts because of the urgency of the situation.
Health authorities say the outbreak is being triggered by the Bundibugyo strain, a type of Ebola virus for which there is no vaccine or treatment.
Of the 600 suspected cases, WHO said 51 have been confirmed in the northern DRC provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.
Uganda has also confirmed two cases in Kampala, including one death, of two people who travelled from DRC to Uganda.
A medical missionary who contracted Ebola in the DRC is also being transported to Germany for treatment.
WHO experts say they believe the outbreak began several months ago, with the first suspected death reported on April 20.
After the first death, officials said, a suspected super-spreading event occurred at a funeral home or health care facility, though an investigation is ongoing.
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