WHO declares emergency amid Ebola outbreak in Africa

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]All right, now to a health alert for you. Medical personnel were rushing to the front lines of a new Ebola outbreak in Central Africa today, whose late detection and quick spread have alarmed health experts. The World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency as 88 suspected deaths have now been reported primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but also in neighboring Uganda. NBC's Danielle Hamed and John reports from London.

[00:00:29]Well, Ebola was first detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo back in 1976, so decades ago. And there have been multiple outbreaks ever since, but what's so concerning to health officials this time is that it involves what's known as the Bundibugyo strain, a rare variant of the virus with no approved vaccine or drugs to treat it. And so now there is a race to contain the outbreak in a part of the world where the health care system is already quite limited.

[00:00:58]Treatment centers are being set up, patients are being isolated as they try to trace contacts to prevent further spreading. The virus is highly contagious, causing fever, body aches, vomiting, and diarrhea. It spreads through direct contact with contaminated objects or materials, think clothes or bedding, or bodily fluids, even from those who have already died from the disease. Now, the CDC is confirming it is coordinating with partners to safely withdraw a small number of Americans who are directly affected in the outbreak areas. The WHO is warning that the number of people infected could be much larger given the high positivity rate of the initial samples and the growing number of suspected cases being reported. WHO is also saying the current outbreak does not amount to a pandemic.

[00:01:51]Danielle Hamed and John, NBC News, London.