Health
Three deaths linked to new Ebola outbreak in Congo
MOSCOW –A new ebola outbreak has been declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after three deaths were linked to the virus.
The DRC went through a three-month long outbreak of the virus in 2014, which killed 49 people.
A death last month has been confirmed to have been caused by ebola, and the World Health Organization is now seeking those who had contact with the victim. The organization is also en route to the area to teach locals how to handle someone who has been infected, as well as how to perform safe burials so they minimize their own risk.
“The case is in a very remote zone, very forested, so we are a little lucky,” WHO Spokesman Eric Kabambi told Sky News.
The virus can spread from animals, such as monkeys or bats, to humans. Without treatment, it is extremely contagious among humans.
“Our country must confront an outbreak of the Ebola virus that constitutes a public health crisis of international significance,” the DRC health ministry wrote in a statement about the outbreak.
Though WHO has developed an experimental vaccine, the virus remains fatal in approximately 90 percent of infections.
Though the virus is highly contagious and deadly, the DRC government has urged the population not to panic.
