The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the risk posed by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak remains high at national and regional levels but low globally.

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva.

“WHO assesses the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level,” Tedros said.

According to the WHO, 51 confirmed Ebola cases have so far been recorded in eastern DR Congo, specifically in Ituri and North Kivu provinces.

Tedros, however, warned that the actual scale of the outbreak could be much larger.

Uganda has also reported two confirmed cases in Kampala, including one death, while a United States national working in DR Congo tested positive and was transferred to Germany for treatment.

“There are several factors that warrant serious concern about the potential for further spread and further deaths,” Tedros said.

“Beyond the confirmed cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths.

“We expect those numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected,” he added.

The WHO had on Sunday declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, triggering emergency response mechanisms globally.

However, the organisation’s emergency committee said the situation does not currently meet the threshold for a pandemic emergency.

“The current situation and criteria for a public health emergency of international concern have been met, and we agree that the current situation does not satisfy the criteria for a pandemic emergency,” said Lucille Blumberg, chair of the WHO emergency committee.

WHO Technical Officer on Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, Anais Legand, said investigations were ongoing to determine when the outbreak started.

“Given the scale, we are thinking that it has started probably a couple of months ago, but investigations are ongoing and our priority is really to cut the transmission chain by implementing contact tracing, isolating and caring for all suspect and confirmed cases,” she said.

The WHO comments came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticised the organisation, saying it was “a little late” in identifying the outbreak.

Responding to the criticism, Tedros said the WHO supports countries in outbreak response rather than replacing national authorities.

“Maybe what the secretary said could be from lack of understanding of how International Health Regulations work, and the responsibilities of WHO and other entities,” he said.