DR Congo facing 'very high' risk from Ebola outbreak

GENEVA - The Democratic Republic of Congo faces a "very high" public health risk from Ebola after the disease was confirmed in one patient in a major city, the World Health Organization said on Friday, raising its assessment from "high" previously.

The risk to countries in the region was now "high", raised from "moderate", but the global risk remained "low".

The reassessment came after the first confirmed case in Mbandaka, a city of around 1.5 million. Previous reports of the disease had all been in remote areas where Ebola might spread more slowly.