The World Health Organization said on Friday the Ebola deadly disease affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo was now likely to spread around the world.
WHO said the DRC in central Africa was now facing a “very high” public health risk from Ebola.
The world’s body raised its assessment from “high” to “very high” after the disease was confirmed in one patient in a major city.
The risk to countries in the region was now “high”, raised from “moderate”, but the global risk remained “low”.
The reassessment came after the first confirmed case in Mbandaka, a city of around 1.5 million. Previous reports of the disease had all been in remote areas where Ebola might spread more slowly, Reuters reported.
“The confirmed case in Mbandaka, a large urban center located on major national and international river, road and domestic air routes increases the risk of spread within the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to neighboring countries,” the WHO said.
