The World Health Organization said Wednesday the risk of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is high at the national and regional levels, but low worldwide and does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed 51 cases in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, but noted the true scale is likely much larger, with nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths.
Uganda reported two confirmed cases in Kampala, including one death. An American doctor working in the DRC, Peter Stafford, has been evacuated to Germany for treatment.
Tedros declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday. The WHO emergency committee agreed it does not yet meet the pandemic threshold.
Responding to U.S. criticism that the WHO was late to identify the outbreak, Tedros suggested the criticism may stem from a lack of understanding of how the International Health Regulations work.