600 suspected cases of Ebola, 139 suspected deaths, numbers expected to rise: WHO chief

Geneva: The head of the World Health Organization ⁠said on Wednesday there were ⁠600 suspected cases of ‌Ebola and ​139 suspected deaths and numbers are expected to rise given the amount ​of ⁠time the virus circulated before the outbreak was detected.

A WHO Emergency Committee ⁠met ‌on Tuesday in Geneva and confirmed that ‌the latest Ebola outbreak ⁠of the rare Bundibugyo strain of the ‌virus is a ‌public health emergency of international ‌concern but ‌not a pandemic emergency, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Tedros declared ⁠the ⁠emergency at the weekend, the first time a WHO chief has taken that step without first consulting experts, ​due to the urgency ​of the ​situation, he said.