Ebola outbreak declared in Democratic Republic of Congo after several die
AN EBOLA outbreak has left at least one dead in northern Congo as health authorities look into nine more suspected cases.
Experts are looking into two more deaths to see if they can be linked with the hemorrhagic fever, Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga said.
The outbreak could test a recently developed experimental Ebola vaccine that the World Health Organisation says could be used in emergencies.
It is hoped the vaccine could prevent a pandemic.
Dr Allarangar Yokouide, the WHO representative in Congo, said that teams of specialists will arrive in the affected area of Likati by Saturday.
WHAT IS EBOLA?
The Ebola virus, also known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a disease that occurs in humans and primates.
The virus is part of the Filoviridae family, which also includes Marburg virus.
To date, scientists have identified five strains of Ebola – four of which are known to cause disease in humans.
The epidemic which swept West Africa from 2013 to 2015 left thousands dead.
Ebola was first identified by a team of scientists in The Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976.
Prior to the 2014 outbreak in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, the mortality rate of the Ebola virus had been between 25% and 89%– with an average of 67%.
During the West African outbreak mortality varied between 25% to 90%.
The virus has an incubation period of two to 21 days, meaning symptoms can take up to three weeks to appear from the time of infection.
MOST READ IN NEWS
"The area in Likati is difficult to access, but the work of tracing contacts is very crucial to stopping the epidemic in its tracks," he added.
Ebola occasionally jumps to humans from animals including bats and monkeys, and there is no specific treatment for the disease.
The virus can spread quickly between people and is fatal in up to 90 per cent of cases.
The US Agency for International Development has said an estimated 70 per cent of the population in Congo have little or no access to health care.
However Congo's health minister said: "We urge you not to give in to panic".