With Over 2000 Dead, Priority is to ‘Break the Chains’ of Ebola Transmission
Over 2000 people have died so far in the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the only way to break the chains of transmission is via scaled-up local surveillance, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “Most concerningly, we see a high proportion of deaths in communities instead of treatment […]
The Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in over 2000 deaths. According to the World Health Organization, the priority is to "break the chains" of transmission through scaled-up local surveillance.
The outbreak is caused by a previously unseen variant of the Bundibugyo species of the Ebola virus, which is believed to have stemmed from a new transmission from animals to humans. Researchers found that the outbreak strain is genetically distinct from previous Bundibugyo Ebola viruses seen in outbreaks in 2007 and 2012.
The outbreak, declared on May 15, has so far resulted in 4,381 confirmed cases. There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo Ebola, although candidate vaccines and treatments are under development.
Brief written by urgent.news from Health Policy Watch, MyJoyOnline Ghana — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
