Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern

Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern

Author: BBC World Service May 17, 2026 Duration: 47:27

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO said the outbreak in DR Congo's eastern Ituri province, which has seen around 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths reported, does not yet meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency. We hear from the man who first identified the virus.

Also in the programme: will the US and China come to an agreement on artificial intelligence?; and the Iranian family saga in the running for the International Booker Prize.

(Photo: Ugandan doctors wear their personal protective equipment at the Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital Isolation Centre in Entebbe, Uganda, 20 October 2022. Credit: ISAAC KASAMANI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)


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