WHO head ‘deeply concerned’over ‘scale and speed’of Ebola spread, says emergency committee will meet

The head of theWorld Health Organizationannounced 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 beenover 500 suspected cases inthe 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.

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“I’m deeply concerned about the scale ‌and ⁠speed of the epidemic,” Tedros said in a Tuesday statement.

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Tedros is meeting with the WHO’s Emergency Committee later Tuesday.

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US ISSUES URGENT TRAVEL WARNING AS DEADLY EBOLA OUTBREAK SPREADS OVERSEAS

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, speaks during an event.(Lian Yi/Xinhua via Getty Images)

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 WHOdeclared the outbreak a public healthemergency on Sunday, and the U.S.issued an urgent travel warning for the DRC shortly after on Monday.

UGANDA STARTS CLINICAL TRIAL OF VACCINE FOR SUDAN STRAIN OF EBOLA AMID NEW OUTBREAK

A health worker sprays disinfectant on a colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on Sept.9, 2018.(Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP)

Officials said the outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, a rarer variant for whichexisting vaccinesmay be less effective.

The State Department warns that Ebola is a “rare, severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever illness.”

The viruscan spread through direct contact with infected individuals, bodily fluids, infected corpses and objects contaminated with the virus.

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CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER DESCRIBES UNCERTAINTY AFTER 3 DEATHS AMID HANTAVIRUS PROBE

“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.”

Pictured is the MV Hondius, the cruise ship tied to a hantavirus outbreak after a stop in Argentina that left three passengers dead.(Europa Press Canarias via Getty Images)

The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring arare hantavirus outbreak tiedto the MV Hondius cruise ship, which left multiple passengers and crew members sick, and caused three deaths.

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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.

� Andrea Margolis and Michael Sinkewicz and Reuters contributed to this report.

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