The World Health Organization declared Sunday that the Ebola outbreak spreading through Congo and neighboring Uganda now constitutes a public health emergency of international concern after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths were reported.

WHO clarified that the outbreak does not meet the threshold of a pandemic emergency like COVID-19 and said there is currently no recommendation to close international borders.

The agency announced that a laboratory-confirmed Ebola case had been identified in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, nearly 1,000 kilometers from the outbreak’s epicenter in the eastern Ituri province, raising concerns about broader transmission. Officials said the infected individual had recently traveled from Ituri. Suspected cases have also emerged in North Kivu province, one of Congo’s most heavily populated regions bordering Ituri.

Authorities in Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, confirmed Sunday that the city’s first Ebola case had been detected. According to local officials, the infected person traveled from Ituri province and has since been isolated. Goma was previously the site of intense fighting during a rapid rebel offensive earlier in 2025 involving Rwanda-backed M23 terrorists and Congolese government forces.

Ebola spreads through bodily fluids including blood, vomit, and semen. The disease is highly contagious and often fatal.

Africa’s leading public health agency said Congo’s Ituri province has recorded 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths so far, while Uganda has reported one death tied to an imported case from Congo.

WHO’s emergency declaration is intended to mobilize international aid agencies and governments to coordinate a stronger response and prevent the outbreak from spreading further.

The current outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare variant for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments. Although Congo and Uganda have experienced more than 20 Ebola outbreaks combined, this marks only the third known outbreak involving the Bundibugyo virus.

WHO said nearly all confirmed and suspected cases remain in Congo, with only two reported in Uganda.

The Bundibugyo strain was first identified during a 2007-2008 outbreak in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district, where 149 people were infected and 37 died. Another outbreak occurred in Congo in 2012, resulting in 57 cases and 29 deaths.

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya warned that many active infections remain within communities, especially in Mongwalu, where the first cases were detected.

“Significantly complicating containment and contact tracing efforts,” Kaseya said of the ongoing spread.

Health officials said armed conflict, militant violence, and constant population movement linked to mining activity have made efforts to contain the virus especially difficult.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned that the full scale of the outbreak remains unclear.

“There are significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time. In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases,” he said.

Ugandan authorities reported that one infected traveler from Congo died in a hospital in Kampala, while another case was also tied to travel from Congo.

WHO warned that the spread into Uganda and the high percentage of positive test samples suggest the outbreak may be substantially larger than currently documented.

“This outbreak started in April. So far, we don’t know the index case. It means we don’t know how far is the magnitude of this outbreak,” Kaseya said.

Officials said the earliest known suspected patient, a 59-year-old man, became ill on April 24 and died three days later at a hospital in Ituri.

By the time health authorities became aware of the outbreak through social media reports on May 5, at least 50 deaths had already occurred, according to Africa CDC.

WHO also reported that at least four healthcare workers displaying Ebola symptoms have died.

Shanelle Hall, a senior adviser at Africa CDC, told the Associated Press that four potential therapeutics are currently under review for use against the Bundibugyo strain, though no vaccine candidates are actively being deployed.

African health officials also highlighted ongoing concerns over the continent’s reliance on foreign vaccine production and limited domestic manufacturing capabilities.

“If we are serious in this continent, we need to manufacture what we need,” Kaseya said. “We cannot every single day look for others to come to tell us what they are doing.”