New Delhi, May 17 -- The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak spreading across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alarm, after confirming the virus has reached two African capitals and warning that a rare strain for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists may already be circulating far more widely than official figures suggest.

The declaration, issued on Sunday, marks the first such global health emergency since mpox received the same designation in 2024. It places the Ebola crisis in the same category of international alarm as Covid-19 and other events that have demanded coordinated global responses, unlocking emergency funding a...