WHO revises Ebola risk in DR Congo to "very high"

The World Health Organization announced Friday that it had revised its Ebola risk assessment in the Democratic Republic of Congo from very high to very high.

WHO cited transport links and population movements as potential risk factors in proposing its latest assessment, while emphasizing that global risk remained low.

"As the risk of national and regional spread is very high, it is important that provinces and neighboring countries strengthen their surveillance and preparedness activities.

"WHO will continue to work with neighboring countries and partners to ensure that health authorities are alerted and ready to intervene at the operational level," said the agency.

On Tuesday, the deputy director general of the WHO for the preparation and response to emergency situations, Peter Salama, warned that neighboring Uganda was facing an "imminent" threat from the day. Ebola following an affair in a border town near Lake Albert.

The tenth Ebola outbreak of DC Congo since the first known case in 1976 took place on August 1 in a very rough northeastern region harboring a group of armed groups near the border with Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.

The latest outbreak killed 101 people, according to a latest count of the WHO.

A medical worker puts on protective equipment as she prepares to enter an Ebola treatment center run by the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) in Beni, Republic of Democratic Republic of Congo.