The World Health Organisation has voiced concern about the "scale and speed" of a deadly Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 130 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, warning it could be lengthy.
The UN health agency declared the latest surge of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever an international health emergency.
As residents awaited medical supplies in the DRC's conflict-torn east, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said local hospitals are turning away patients due to a lack of space.
No vaccine or therapeutic treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for this outbreak, which is the 17th in the country's history.
Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba has confirmed 136 suspected deaths and 543 suspected cases, calling for international aid.
The virus has already spread into neighbouring provinces and crossed the border into Uganda, where two cases have been recorded.
US criticism of WHO
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the WHO was late in identifying the deadly outbreak.
"The lead is obviously going to be CDC... and the World Health Organisation, which was a little late to identify this thing, unfortunately," Rubio told reporters.
A senior State Department official added that it took the UN body 10 days to confirm the outbreak, claiming the WHO "failed now numerous times.”
The WHO contests the charges, stating it must cooperate with all nations.
The State Department announced it will fund up to 50 treatment centres through $13 million in initial funding, with Rubio noting it is tough to reach affected areas in a war-torn country.
Despite a ban on non-Americans who have recently visited the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan, a State Department official confirmed that Washington will allow the DRC's national football team to travel to the United States for the World Cup.
The team, which plans to maintain a base in Houston ahead of their 17 June match against Portugal, will be subject to strict screening and isolation protocols identical to those required for returning American citizens.
The official emphasised that the entry exemption will not apply to ordinary fans from the DRC.
