WHO declares Ebola crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international concern

Ebola screening intensified at Isbania Mr Alloyce Mwita Senior Public health Office at Isbania cross border point screen a foreign traveler at Isebania border in Kuria west sub County Migori County on June 20, 2019 (Photo by Caleb Kingwara, standard)

The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a "public health emergency of international concern," a rare designation only used for the gravest epidemics.

"It is time for the world to take notice," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement, as he accepted the advice of his advisory board to invoke the emergency provision (PHEIC), only used by the UN health agency four times previously.