Ten African countries at risk of Ebola
- Africa News
Otaria Benjamin- 0
- 2 minutes read
Congolese medical workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) load a coffin of a patient that died of Ebola on a mobile trailer at the Rwampara General Hospital, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo./Reuters
Ten African countries are at risk of being affected by the Ebola virus, in addition to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, the African Union’s health agency warned on Saturday.
Africa CDC head Jean Kaseya listed the countries as Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
Uganda confirmed three new Ebola cases on Saturday. The Red Cross said three volunteers died in neighbouring DR Congo.
The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak an international emergency. Kaseya said “high mobility and insecurity” in the region were helping spread the disease.
The current outbreak centres on eastern DR Congo, where it was detected in Ituri province before spreading to South Kivu. The WHO said on Friday there are 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths, alongside nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths.
Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa in the past half-century. The WHO raised the risk in DR Congo to its highest level, “very high”. The risk in central Africa is “high”, but the global risk remains “low”.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.
SOURCE: MRA
