After Ebola spills into Uganda, WHO decides against emergency declaration
The long-running and dangerous Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — which spilled over into neighboring Uganda this week — is an emergency for the country and a threat to its neighbors, but doesn’t constitute a global health emergency, the World Health Organization concluded on Friday.
The decision, which quickly garnered criticism in some quarters, was made on the recommendation of a panel of outside experts, called an emergency committee.
Dr. Preben Aavitsland, acting chair of the committee and one of the people who wrote the rules governing public health emergencies of international concern after the 2003 SARS outbreak, said there was extensive debate within the group, but in the end they agreed the declaration was not needed and could worsen the situation on the ground.
