Thu | Mar 28, 2024

UN health chief warns of ‘very high’ risk of Ebola spread

Published:Tuesday | May 21, 2019 | 12:10 AM

GENEVA (AP):

The head of the UN health agency says the risk that the Ebola virus will spread remains “very high.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking Monday at the start of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual assembly, where issues like antimicrobial resistance, universal healthcare and WHO reform are among the topics up for discussion.

Ghebreyesus noted that the current Ebola outbreak, which is the second deadliest on record and has been confirmed to have taken nearly 1,100 lives, is so far contained to two provinces of eastern Congo that are wracked by violence by armed groups.

He said the outbreak was “one of the most complex health emergencies any of us have ever faced”.