Amman, May 19 (Petra) -- Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Tuesday expressed his "deep concern" regarding the scale and speed of the Ebola outbreak sweeping the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has caused 131 deaths.

"This is the first time a Director-General has declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern before convening the Emergency Committee," Ghebreyesus said during his address at the WHO's annual member states meeting in Geneva, warning that he "did not take this decision lightly." He noted that he reached this decision after consulting with the health ministers of both affected countries, adding, "because I am highly concerned about the scale of the epidemic and the speed of its spread." Ghebreyesus explained that there are at least 500 suspected cases of the virus, in addition to the 131 deaths believed to have been caused by it since the new outbreak began. Meanwhile, a daily bulletin issued by health authorities reported 516 suspected cases and 33 confirmed infections in the DRC, alongside two confirmed cases in neighboring Uganda.

On Sunday, Ghebreyesus declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern the WHO's second-highest alert level in response to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda.

In a related development, the United States announced on Monday that it will strengthen its precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these measures will include screening travelers arriving from affected areas and temporarily suspending visa services for certain countries.

//Petra// AF