GENEVA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak which started in August 2018 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing that it was the unanimous view of the WHO Emergency Committee that the Ebola outbreak in DRC is still a PHEIC.

Major concerns from the WHO is that withdrawing the PHEIC now might have adverse consequences for the response efforts through diminishing focus, let alone the serious ongoing outbreaks of other diseases, including measles and cholera, in the country.■