WHO chief Adhanom says Ebola outbreak in Congo is 'spreading rapidly'

The head of the World Health Organisation says the Ebola outbreak in Congo is "spreading rapidly" and now poses a "very high" risk at the national level.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom said Friday the UN health agency was revising upward to "very high" its assessment of the risk within Congo, which had previously been deemed as high.

The risk remains high for regional spread and low at global levels, he told reporters.

The WHO chief noted that 82 cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with seven confirmed deaths, "but we know the epidemic in DRC is much larger."  He said there are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. The situation in neighbouring Uganda is "stable" with two cases confirmed in people who had travelled from Congo, with one death.