The World Health Organization emergency committee will decide Friday whether to declare a raging Ebola epidemic an international threat, after an outbreak that began in Democratic Republic of Congo crossed into Uganda. The WHO panel, which was formed in 2005, has used the label “public health emergency of international concern” for only four previous epidemics. […]
Ebola
Second Ebola patient dies in Uganda, two others in intensive care
A Congolese woman has become the second patient in Uganda to die of Ebola since the virus crossed the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo and two other people remain in intensive care, a health ministry official said on Thursday. The 50-year-old woman was the grandmother of a five-year-old boy who died on Tuesday […]
UN official blasts violence against Ebola teams in DR Congo
The UN special representative to DR Congo has blasted rumours that the world body was trying to cash in on an Ebola epidemic that has claimed more than 1,000 lives. Leila Zerrougui, head of the UN mission to the sprawling central African nation, on Friday visited the eastern city of Butembo where she slammed as […]
More than 1,000 dead in D.R. Congo Ebola epidemic
More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a “deeply worrying situation”. The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 […]
Ebola survivors comfort sick and frightened in Congo outbreak
Wearing a disposable gown and gloves for protection, Jeanine Masika cradles a 2-year-old Ebola patient and offers the listless toddler teaspoons of brown soup. Most health care workers need a surgical mask, goggles, hooded coveralls, an apron, rubber boots and two pairs of gloves to avoid catching the virus that typically kills around half those […]
Ebola death toll in DRC passes 750: WHO
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has killed more than 750 people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday, ahead of a key review on the severity of the epidemic. WHO’s latest toll for the outbreak declared in eastern DRC last August came as the agency’s International Health Regulations emergency committee […]
People skills at heart of DR Congo’s long fight against Ebola
Evelyne was one of the first victims of the Ebola epidemic which broke out in eastern DR Congo last August, the second deadliest in its known history. Against the odds, the nurse not only survived the haemorrhagic virus, whose outbreak has claimed nearly 700 lives, but has also returned to the fray. After receiving a […]
Nine confirmed dead in DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak: ministry
Nine confirmed Ebola victims have died since the virus resurfaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo this month, the country’s health ministry said Tuesday. The previous official toll was seven dead, with the two latest victims — like all the others — registered in the Beni region in North Kivu province, an eastern region with […]
Ebola outbreak in DR Congo believed to have killed 33: health ministry
A new outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo is believed to have killed 33 people in the east of the country, the health ministry said Saturday. Thirteen Ebola cases have been confirmed since the fresh outbreak was declared on August 1 in North Kivu province. While just three of the […]
WHO predicts Ebola outbreak in DR Congo could end soon
KINSHASA: The director general of the World Health Organisation said Sunday he believed a swift end could be put to the outbreak of Ebola in northwestern DR Congo, some 21 days which has left 27 people dead over the past month. “I am cautiously optimistic that we shall be able to bring it to an […]