UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — WHO’s Ebola measures
Q1. At the time the WHO Director-General determined the Bundibugyo virus epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May 2026, how many laboratory-confirmed cases had been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Q2. Under the International Health Regulations (2005), the final determination that an event constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern is made by which one of the following?
- A. The Chair of the IHR Emergency Committee convened for the event
- B. The World Health Assembly, by a two-thirds vote of Member States
- C. The Director-General of the World Health Organization
- D. The WHO Regional Director for the affected WHO region
Q3. The formal naming and ranking of virus species such as Orthoebolavirus zairense and Orthoebolavirus bundibugyoense is carried out by which one of the following bodies?
- A. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses
- B. The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network of WHO
- C. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
- D. The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System
Q4. According to WHO's Disease Outbreak News on the Bundibugyo virus outbreak issued in August 2026, the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had by then spread to how many health zones?
Q5. WHO's assessment that the ongoing Bundibugyo virus epidemic is the largest Ebola disease outbreak ever recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rests on its having surpassed the confirmed-case total of that country's outbreak of which period?
- A. 1976
- B. 1995–1996
- C. 2007–2008
- D. 2018–2020
Q6. Under the International Health Regulations (2005), Temporary Recommendations issued in connection with a Public Health Emergency of International Concern automatically expire after what period from their issuance, unless extended?
- A. One month
- B. Three months
- C. Six months
- D. Twelve months, or until the emergency is terminated, whichever is earlier
Q7. Consider the following statements regarding Ebola disease:
1. The disease was first recognised in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara in present-day South Sudan and the other in a village near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from which it takes its name.
2. Fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae are thought to be the natural hosts of the virus, whereas human infection is introduced through contact with the body fluids of infected animals and thereafter spreads by human-to-human transmission.
3. The incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days, and an infected person is capable of transmitting the virus to others during this period even before symptoms appear.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The disease was first recognised in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara in present-day South Sudan and the other in a village near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from which it takes its name.
- Fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae are thought to be the natural hosts of the virus, whereas human infection is introduced through contact with the body fluids of infected animals and thereafter spreads by human-to-human transmission.
- The incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days, and an infected person is capable of transmitting the virus to others during this period even before symptoms appear.
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 2 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q8. Consider the following statements regarding the World Health Organization:
1. Its Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948, whereas the first World Health Assembly opened at Geneva later in the same year.
2. It is governed by 194 Member States grouped into six regions, each of which is represented by a regional office.
3. The Executive Board is its supreme decision-making body, while the World Health Assembly gives effect to the decisions and policies adopted by the Board.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Its Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948, whereas the first World Health Assembly opened at Geneva later in the same year.
- It is governed by 194 Member States grouped into six regions, each of which is represented by a regional office.
- The Executive Board is its supreme decision-making body, while the World Health Assembly gives effect to the decisions and policies adopted by the Board.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3