Ebola Outbreak is Back in Congo
World Health Organization (WHO) declared this Ebola outbreak in an area of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the second devastating one in the history of Africa. Ebola was first reported in 1976. It was estimated that more than 11,000 people were killed by Ebola infection from 2014 to 2016.
According to the Congo’s health ministry, the number of confirmed and probable Ebola cases has reached more than 4oo this time. The number of confirmed deaths reached to 198.
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a rare and deadly disease. It affects both people and nonhuman primates (monkeys, chimpanzees, and gorillas). The Early symptoms of EVD such as fever, headache, and weakness are also commonly seen in patients suffering from malaria and typhoid fever. Ebola is spread over long distances by bats. Fruit Bats can directly infect humans. In human, Ebola infection is being passed to others via blood, secretions, and other bodily fluids.
Ebola outbreaks often reported in areas near to dense, equatorial forests. It is very difficult to reach these areas when international aid groups, healthcare personnel including vaccinators would like to get access. Importantly, the armed conflict between the government and rebel militant groups has hampered the international efforts to control this deadly infection significantly. World is expecting US to take an additive action to control this devastating outbreak.
About the image: Colorized scanning electron micrograph of Ebola virus particles (green) found both as extracellular particles and budding particles from an infected African Green Monkey Kidney cell (blue); 20,000x magnification. Image is credited to BernbaumJG, CC-BY-4.0
