Friday, 30/11/2018 20:30 (GMT+7)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on November 29th warned that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s deadly Ebola outbreak is now the second largest in history, behind the devastating West Africa outbreak that killed thousands a few years ago.
(Photo: Reuters)
WHO's emergencies chief, Dr. Peter Salama, called it a "sad toll" as Congo's health ministry announced that the number of cases has reached 426. That includes 379 confirmed cases and 47 probable ones. So far this outbreak, declared on August 1st, has resulted in 198 confirmed deaths, with another 47 probable ones, Congo's health ministry said.
North Kivu province, which includes the cities Beni, Kalunguta and Mabalako, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, though cases have been reported in neighboring Ituri province, according to WHO. The two provinces are among the most populated in the nation, and border Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
Congo has suffered 10 Ebola outbreaks since the first reported case of Ebola occurred in the DRC in 1976 in an outbreak that killed at least 280 people.
The worst Ebola epidemic ended in West Africa two years ago, after killing more than 11,300 people and infecting about 28,600 across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Ebola, one of the deadliest viruses known to man, is spread through direct contact, and it can also be transmitted through sexual contact or unprotected handling of contaminated corpses.
There is no specific treatment for Ebola, which is spread through the bodily fluids of people exhibiting symptoms./.
Compiled by BTA