Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said there are around 600 suspected Ebola cases and 139 deaths believed to be linked to the virus, warning that the numbers are likely to rise due to the period during which the outbreak spread before being detected.

Tedros said the WHO Emergency Committee met Tuesday in Geneva and confirmed that the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, although it does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency.

He noted that he declared the emergency earlier this week in a rare move taken without waiting for expert consultation, citing the seriousness of the situation.

The WHO had announced on Sunday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda represents an international public health emergency and poses risks to neighboring countries.

Ebola is transmitted from animals to humans and then spreads between people. Early symptoms include fever, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat, followed in some cases by kidney and liver dysfunction and internal or external bleeding.