Wednesday, May 9, 2018

New Ebola outbreak declared in Democratic Republic of the Congo


- The Democratic Republic of the Congo has declared an Ebola outbreak after two patients tested positive for the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Tuesday.

The WHO said that it was working with the country's government to clamp down on any potential for the disease spreading, following an Ebola outbreak in in the northern part of the country last year.

“Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease,” Peter Salama, WHO deputy director-general of emergency preparedness and response, said in a statement.

Out of five patients tested in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two results came back positive for Ebola and more are being tested, according to WHO officials.

This is the ninth outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the virus was discovered in 1976.

In the last five weeks, 17 people overall have died of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever, which is caused by several viruses, including Ebola.

The WHO is releasing $1 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies in an effort to stop Ebola from spreading to nearby provinces and countries. The current outbreak is in Bikoro, in the northwestern part of the country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo saw an outbreak of Ebola last year, and was “quickly contained,” according to the WHO, which attributed this success to the quick testing of blood samples, announcing the outbreak early, a rapid response from health authorities and more.

Officials have sought to quickly clamp down on Ebola following an outbreak in West Africa in 2014 that garnered attention worldwide and resulted in over 11,000 deaths.

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