WHO chief: 600 suspected cases of Ebola, 139 suspected deaths, numbers expected to rise


Reuters | Updated: 20-05-2026 15:00 IST | Created: 20-05-2026 15:00 IST
WHO chief: 600 suspected cases of Ebola, 139 suspected deaths, numbers expected to rise

​The head ‌of the ​World Health Organization said on Wednesday there were 600 ‌suspected cases of Ebola and 139 suspected deaths and numbers are expected to rise given ‌the amount of time the virus ‌circulated before the outbreak was detected.

A WHO Emergency Committee met on Tuesday in Geneva ⁠and confirmed ​that the ⁠latest Ebola outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain ⁠of the virus is a public ​health emergency of international concern but not ⁠a pandemic emergency, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ⁠said. Tedros ​declared the emergency at the weekend, the first time a WHO ⁠chief has taken that step without first ⁠consulting experts, ⁠due to the urgency of the situation, he said.

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