At least one dead in new Ebola outbreak in Congo

By Aaron Ross

 

KINSHASA (Reuters) - At least one person has died from the Ebola virus in Democratic Republic of Congo, the Health Ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, signalling a new outbreak of the disease which killed thousands in West Africa.

 

The case was confirmed from tests on nine people who came down with a hemorrhagic fever in Bas-Uele province in the northeast of the country on or after April 22, a ministry statement said. Three people have died of fever.

 

Other samples are still being tested, and six people remain hospitalised.

 

"Our country must confront an outbreak of the Ebola virus that constitutes a public health crisis of international significance," the ministry said.

 

An investigation team led by the ministry of health with WHO support was expected to reach the scene of the outbreak in the coming days, the WHO said. The ministry said it should arrive on Saturday.

 

"It is in a very remote zone, very forested, so we are a little lucky. We always take this very seriously," the WHO's Congo spokesman, Eugene Kabambi, said.

 

This latest Ebola outbreak is Congo's eighth, the most of any country. The deadly hemorrhagic fever was first detected in its dense tropical forests in 1976 and named after the nearby river Ebola.

 

That experience helped Congolese authorities respond effectively to an outbreak in 2014 that killed 49 people. At the same time, a separate outbreak killed more than 11,300 people and infected some 28,600 as it swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and caused alarm around the world.

 

In June last year, WHO declared Liberia free of active Ebola virus transmission. Liberia was the last country still fighting the world's worst outbreak of the disease.

 

"Our country is full of people well-trained in this matter and our health professionals also helped contain similar epidemics in other countries," the health ministry said in its statement.

 

The GAVI global vaccine alliance said on Friday some 300,000 emergency doses of an Ebola vaccine developed by Merck <MRK.N> could be available in case of a large-scale outbreak and that it stood ready to support the Congo government's efforts to bring the epidemic under control.

 

Under an agreement between GAVI and Merck, the developer of an Ebola vaccine known as rVSV-ZEBOV, it said up to 300,000 doses of the shot would be available in case of an outbreak.

 

"The WHO and others will determine if and when deployment of vaccine into this outbreak is warranted," it said in a statement.

 

"There are 300,000 doses of Ebola vaccine available if needed to stop this outbreak becoming a pandemic," said GAVI's chief executive Seth Berkley. "The vaccine has shown high efficacy in clinical trials and could play a vital role in protecting the most vulnerable."

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-05-13

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Now we will see if WHO learnt anything from the last epidemic.  WHO is on its own this time since the new US admin has signaled it will slash NIH/CDC funding to assist.

 

Quick,Thailand sent them the "Cure" that this government"s Medical Department claims to have perfected.(while the best laboratories in the world are still testing to find a cure).

26 minutes ago, sanukjim said:

Quick,Thailand sent them the "Cure" that this government"s Medical Department claims to have perfected.(while the best laboratories in the world are still testing to find a cure).

New Ebola Vaccine Gives 100 Percent Protection

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/22/health/ebola-vaccine.html

 

And given the Trump administration's disinclination to fund efforts to stop pandemics outside of the USA, Americans may soon need to be vaccinated at home. Well, it could mean lots of new jobs for Americans.

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

New Ebola Vaccine Gives 100 Percent Protection

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/22/health/ebola-vaccine.html

 

And given the Trump administration's disinclination to fund efforts to stop pandemics outside of the USA, Americans may soon need to be vaccinated at home. Well, it could mean lots of new jobs for Americans.

 Americans may soon need to be vaccinated at home ? HUH ?

1 hour ago, sanukjim said:

 Americans may soon need to be vaccinated at home ? HUH ?

The Trump Administration has proposed slashing funding for programs that counter worldwide pandemics.

19 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

The Trump Administration has proposed slashing funding for programs that counter worldwide pandemics.

So,Let the rest of the countries take up the slack.Most Americans will get the shots that they need before they travel anyway.How much does your country give to this each year ?

1 minute ago, sanukjim said:

So,Let the rest of the countries take up the slack.Most Americans will get the shots that they need before they travel anyway.How much does your country give to this each year ?

Oh, I get it,  the only way Americans will contract those diseases is if they travel abroad. The diseases won't come to America because, you know, bacteria and viruses can't enter the country what with Trump's tough new immigration enforcement.

I thought I read somewhere recently that WHO had stood down the ebola alert from the last outbreak, because the danger had passed