According to the WHO, there have been 246 suspected Ebola cases in the DRC as of May 16. The organisation also warned that neighbouring countries sharing borders with the DRC are at high risk of further spread, News.Az reports, citing Politico.

The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which is considered more difficult to treat and currently has no approved vaccine. Uganda has already confirmed two laboratory-tested cases linked to travellers arriving from the DRC, including one death.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the public health emergency without waiting for the organisation’s expert committee, describing the situation as extraordinary and warning that the true scale of the outbreak remains unclear.

In a statement, the WHO stressed that international coordination and cooperation are urgently needed to strengthen surveillance, prevention and response measures, as well as to improve the implementation of control efforts.

The announcement comes just before the WHO’s annual assembly in Geneva, where countries had been expected to finalise a global pandemic treaty. Negotiations, however, are set to continue after disagreements over the sharing of pathogen data, medicines and vaccines remained unresolved.