Ebola Outbreak in DRC: 3 Thousand 398 People Lost Their Lives
According to data from the DRC National Public Health Institute, the Ebola epidemic has spread to 62 regions.
Quick Look
- The DRC National Public Health Institute announced that 7 thousand 22 Ebola cases were confirmed in the country and 3 thousand 398 people lost their lives.
- While the epidemic has spread to 62 regions, there is no approved treatment or vaccine yet for the new Bundibugyo variant.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Ebola virus first appeared in Sudan and DRC in 1976. The disease takes its name from the Ebola River, where the epidemic started.
According to the latest data shared by the DRC National Public Health Institute (INSP), 7 thousand 22 Ebola cases were confirmed in the country, while 3 thousand 398 people died due to the epidemic.
THE OUTBREAK SPREAD TO 62 REGIONS
The epidemic, in which the death rate was recorded as 48.4 percent and 1671 patients recovered, spread to 62 regions in the country's Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo, Bas-Uele and South Ubangi provinces.
EBOLA FIRST APPEARED IN 1976
The Ebola virus, which causes a type of hemorrhagic fever, first appeared in 1976 with simultaneous epidemics in Nzara, Sudan, and Yambuku, DRC.
Since the epidemic in the DRC started in a village near the Ebola River, the disease was named after this river.
The Ebola virus spread in West Africa in December 2013. In the epidemic seen in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between 2014 and 2017, 30 thousand people were infected with the virus and more than 11 thousand of the patients died.
THERE IS NO TREATMENT OR VACCINE FOR THE NEW VARIANT
An epidemic was declared in the country on May 15, following 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths announced in Ituri province in the east of the DRC.
According to health officials, there is no approved treatment or vaccine for the "Bundibugyo" Ebola variant that broke out in May.
Open Questions
- What international aid is planned to control the epidemic?
