An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is probably linked to 136 deaths, the Central African nation’s Health Minister has said.
Samuel Roger Kamba told a press briefing in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday (19 May) that there were 543 suspected cases of the illness and 32 confirmed positive cases in the DRC.
"We have about 32 positive cases from the samples we received. 32 cases are positive. [...] We are today at 136 probable deaths linked to the disease,” he said.
"We have 69 patients who are in our treatment centres. [...] We are at around 543 probable patients in the community. And so, this is the situation of the disease today. And we are indeed continuing the active search for all cases,” Kamba added.
The outbreak has alarmed experts because it was able to spread for weeks undetected across a densely populated area ravaged by widespread armed violence.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus a public health emergency of international concern on Saturday (16 May), the first time a WHO chief has done so before convening an emergency committee.
A previous outbreak between 2018 and 2020 in eastern DRC was the second deadliest on record, killing nearly 2,300 people.
Around half of people who contract Ebola, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids from an infected person or animal, die from the disease, according to the WHO.
Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said three vaccines were currently in development for the virus.
“There is the first vaccine, as we said, the Ervebo Merck vaccine. That is the one we are pushing the most, with some specificities we are studying,” he said.
“The second is the ChAdOx vaccine from the UK. And the third is the vaccine called VSV-BDBV. That comes from Texas.”
Meanwhile, a U.S. citizen who contracted the virus in the DRC, has been transferred to Germany for treatment, the U.S. CDC said on Tuesday.
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday said it would fund up to 50 treatment clinics in Ebola-affected regions of the DRC and Uganda.
Recovery teams are continuing operations in Grand Canyon National Park after flash floods swept through parts of the canyon over the weekend, leavi...
Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have formalised their new defensive alliance at the grouping’s first high-level meeting held Monday i...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have concluded talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, as leade...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have concluded talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, as leaders gather for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused U.S. government and Israel-aligned actors of manipulating energy markets to promote the war with Iran.
Russian strikes on the Kyiv region overnight killed 37 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Zelenskyy added that the Ukrainian capital was under "virtually nonstop attack" from drones.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Jordan in the first direct U.S.-Iran military escalation in weeks.
Recovery teams are continuing operations in Grand Canyon National Park after flash floods swept through parts of the canyon over the weekend, leaving one person dead and leading to the discovery of a second body that has yet to be recovered.
Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have formalised their new defensive alliance at the grouping’s first high-level meeting held Monday in Istanbul.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has stated that Tehran is not pursuing a military conflict but promised a strong response to 'aggressors' while the Army and Revolutionary Guards said they carried out retaliatory attacks against U.S. bases in the region on Monday.
Kyrgyzstan is hosting the sixth World Nomad Games, bringing together thousands of athletes from around the world for a celebration of traditional sports, cultural heritage and nomadic traditions.
Pakistan is set to take over the rotating chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation after the bloc’s leaders meet in Bishkek. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived on Friday to attend the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting and SCO Plus Summit, which run until 2 September.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment