India, May 21 -- On May 17, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the ongoing outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern. This is one level below a pandemic emergency, the highest level of alert, a term last applied by WHO to Covid-19.

As of May 20, 139 deaths and 600 suspected cases have been linked to the outbreak. This number could increase sharply over a 24-hour period. Cases have been confirmed in Kampala and in Kinshasa, the capitals of Uganda and the DRC, and the two countries' largest cities respectively.

This, combined with large test positivity among samples as well as reports of clusters of cases in two DRC provinces, hint at a large ...