The Ebola outbreak is not a global emergency after its spread from Congo to Uganda, says the World Health Organization – live updates

Geneva – The World Health Organization said Friday that the Ebola outbreak in Congo – which spilled in Uganda this week – is an "extraordinary event" that raises serious concerns but does not yet deserve to be declared a global emergency. The US health agency has convened for the third time its expert committee to assess the epidemic, which some experts believe has met the criteria for long-standing international emergency status.

This epidemic, the second deadliest in history, has claimed more than 1,400 lives since its declaration in August. At a press conference held at the end of the meeting, Mr. Preben Aavitsland, Acting Chairman of the Committee, announced that the outbreak was "a health emergency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" but that the situation did not yet meet the criteria for being declared. a global.

For such a declaration, an epidemic must be a risk for other countries and require a coordinated response. The statement usually triggers more funding and political attention.

Mr Aavitsland said the committee was "deeply disappointed" that WHO and affected countries have not received the funding needed to halt the epidemic and have sent a direct message to donors: " Step up your efforts.

On Thursday, the WHO emergency chief acknowledged that the agency had not been able to trace the origin of nearly half of the new Ebola cases to Congo, suggesting that she did not know where the virus was spreading.

The WHO Expert Committee has already met twice to discuss the situation in Congo. In April, the agency had said that the outbreak was "a source of concern", but officials were "moderately optimistic", it could be contained in a "foreseeable time".

"Risk of international spread"

Alexandra Phelan, a global health expert at Georgetown University, said the legal criteria for declaring Ebola a global emergency were long overdue, even before the virus reached Uganda.

"I think the statement should be made tonight," she said. "Since we always observe a daily number of two-digit cases and do not do adequate surveillance, this indicates that hatching is a persistent regional risk."

Phelan said he was concerned that the WHO could be influenced by political considerations.

While the 2014 Ebola outbreak, more deadly, was raging in West Africa, there was strong criticism of the WHO for not declaring emergency worldwide, until nearly 1,000 people died and the virus spread to at least three countries. Internal WHO documents subsequently showed that the agency was concerned that the declaration had economic and social implications for Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

"It is legitimate for countries to raise these concerns, but the foundation on which the WHO and its relief committee should support is the risk to public health and the risk of international spread," Phelan said. .

A complicated epidemic

The epidemic, which has occurred near the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan, is unlike any other. Mistrust was high in a region that had never been confronted with the Ebola virus, and attacks by rebel groups undermined aid efforts.

Debora Patta, CBS News correspondent, went to the epicenter of the outbreak in Congo at the end of May. She said the country's ongoing quarter-century civil war and the violence and mistrust it has caused have clearly disrupted efforts to contain the disease. Treatment centers have often been attacked by the myriad militias operating in the area, and many locals were too frightened or too suspicious to seek medical assistance.

Outreach programs were launched to educate people about Ebola, but Patta said there was mistrust in the community and many people did not even consider Ebola a major issue, just like security.

Dr. Bill Clemmer, of IMA World Health, a nonprofit, has been working in the DRC for over two decades and has partnered with USAID to combat past epidemics. Ebola.

"I have never been in a context where people throw stones at our vaccination team, block roads, plunder and plunder our health facilities," he said.