The WHO said the outbreak did not yet meet the threshold for a pandemic emergency but warned that countries bordering Congo faced a heightened risk of further spread as infections expanded across eastern regions and new cases emerged in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

According to the agency, 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected infections had been reported as of Saturday in Congo’s Ituri province, particularly in the health zones of Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.

The Congolese health ministry had earlier confirmed that at least 80 people had died in the outbreak, which health officials believe may be significantly larger than currently documented because of high positivity rates in early testing and increasing numbers of suspected infections.

The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease, a rarer variant for which no approved vaccines or targeted therapeutics currently exist, unlike the more common Ebola-Zaire strain that has been the focus of previous immunization campaigns in Central Africa.

The WHO described the situation as “extraordinary,” warning that international transmission had already been documented.

In Kampala, two unrelated laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases, including one death, were identified on Friday and Saturday in travelers arriving from Congo, according to the agency. A confirmed case was also detected in Kinshasa involving a traveler returning from Ituri province.

The WHO urged governments to activate national emergency-response systems, intensify border screening and strengthen surveillance along internal transportation routes to contain further spread.
The agency also advised that confirmed Ebola patients and close contacts should avoid international travel except for medical evacuation purposes.

It recommended immediate isolation of confirmed cases, daily monitoring of contacts and restrictions on domestic travel for exposed individuals until 21 days after potential infection.

At the same time, the WHO cautioned governments against shutting borders or imposing sweeping trade restrictions, warning that such measures could push movement across unofficial crossings beyond the reach of health monitoring systems.

The outbreak poses an additional challenge for regional health systems already strained by conflict, population displacement and limited medical infrastructure in eastern Congo, where previous Ebola epidemics have repeatedly tested emergency response capacities.