Congo opens more treatment centers as 'rare' Ebola kills 120
What's the story
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has announced plans to open three new Ebola treatment centers in the eastern Ituri province. The move comes after an outbreak of a rare strain of the virus, which has no approved vaccines or treatments. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared this outbreak a global health emergency, given its potential for regional spread. The outbreak of the rare type of virus has claimed at least 120 lives, with hundreds more suspected cases.
Outbreak details
Virus spread to several areas
The first death was recorded on April 24 in Bunia, but Ebola was only confirmed on May 14. This delay allowed the virus to spread to several areas, including Goma, Mongbwalu, Butembo, and Nyakunde. The Bundibugyo strain involved in this outbreak is a rare form of Ebola without any approved vaccines or specific treatments. As of Monday, there had been over 118 deaths and 300 suspected cases in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, with one death in neighboring Uganda.
Experts
Rarly tests looked for wrong strain of Ebola
"Because early tests looked for the wrong strain of Ebola, we got false negatives and lost weeks of response time," Matthew M. Kavanagh, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Policy and Politics, said. "We are playing catch-up against a very dangerous pathogen." "When you pull billions out of the WHO and dismantle front line USAID programs, you gut the exact surveillance system meant to catch these viruses early," he said.
International response
Experts warn of increasing cases
Experts believe the number of cases will increase as health officials conduct greater surveillance. The WHO is sending experts to support the response in the DRC. "The situation is quite worrying and is evolving pretty quickly," Esther Sterk with the Medecins Sans Frontieres aid group told AP. "It was detected quite late." But she noted such was often the case with Ebola outbreaks, which have similar symptoms to other tropical diseases.
Virus transmission
Symptoms and transmission
Ebola is a highly contagious disease that spreads through contact with bodily fluids and causes symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Unexplained bleeding is also a symptom of this deadly disease. The Bundibugyo virus was discovered in Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that infected 149 people and killed 37. The second occurred in 2012, during an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, which resulted in 57 cases and 29 deaths.