Ebola emerges again in Congo

Published: December 23, 2019

Health officials in Eastern Congo recently documented the first relapse of current Ebola epidemic. The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has so far infected more than 3,300 people and killed more than 2,200 since the middle of 2018, making it the second-worst on record.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), this recent relapse happened in Aloya district where a motorcycle taxi operator is said to have come into contact with 33 people is potentially the cause of 11 new confirmed Ebola cases in past week.

What is Ebola?

Ebola is a rare but deadly virus which was first identified in 1976 by researchers sent to investigate an ailment that was killing victims in a remote part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The researchers team named the condition after the local Ebola river.

Ebola causes Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), a rare and deadly disease in people and nonhuman primates. Ebola is triggered by a virus- probably picked up from an infected bat or non-human primate – that causes blood vessels to leak and can end in organ failure and death. Ebola has killed more than 11,000 people between 2013 and 2016.

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