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The head of the World Health Organization announced a meeting of his emergency committee regarding the “scale and speed” of the Ebola outbreak in the Congo and Uganda on Tuesday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited data saying there have been over 500 suspected cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in recent weeks, and 33 confirmed cases. There have been two confirmed cases in Uganda. The outbreak has seen a total of 131 fatalities.
“I’m deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic,” Tedros said in a Tuesday statement.
Tedros is meeting with the WHO’s Emergency Committee later Tuesday.
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There are several factors that have made the WHO concerned about the potential for further spread, such as cases in urban areas, including Kampala, Uganda, and Goma in the DRC, as well as the conflict-affected province of Ituri.
The WHO has approved $3.9 million in emergency funding to support national authorities as they respond to the outbreak.
The WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency on Sunday, and the U.S. issued an urgent travel warning for the DRC shortly after on Monday.
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Officials said the outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, a rarer variant for which existing vaccines may be less effective.
The State Department warns that Ebola is a “rare, severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever illness.”
The virus can spread through direct contact with infected individuals, bodily fluids, infected corpses and objects contaminated with the virus.
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“The U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Ituri province,” the advisory noted. “Do not travel to this area for any reason.”
The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring a rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius cruise ship, which left multiple passengers and crew members sick, and caused three deaths.
As of May 13, the WHO said 11 hantavirus cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case.
Fox News’ Andrea Margolis and Michael Sinkewicz and Reuters contributed to this report.
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