WHO to hold emergency committee meeting as Ebola death toll rises to 131

WHO is to hold an emergency committee meeting to discuss vaccine options for the new epidemic. The meeting is scheduled for later on Tuesday. An emergency committee is made up of international experts who provide technical advice and recommendations to the WHO chief.

The toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has risen to an estimated 131 deaths from 513 suspected cases, according to Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba. Previous figures from the epidemic were 91 people dead out of 350 suspected cases. The WHO chief said on Tuesday that he was "deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic", which has already started spreading into Uganda. The outbreak's epicentre is in the northeastern province of Ituri on the border with Uganda and South Sudan. The virus has already spread into neighboring provinces, as far as 200km (125 miles) away from what has been identified as the epidemic's ground zero and also beyond the DRC's borders. No vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.

A World Health Organization official said that six tons of supplies to fight Ebola were set to arrive in the DRC on Tuesday, including personal protective equipment and other medical supplies. Germany is preparing to admit and treat a United States citizen who contracted Ebola in the DRC. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that the American had contracted the virus after exposure related "to their work" in the DRC and tested positive late on Sunday.