Hundreds of suspected Ebola cases in DRC and Uganda, over 130 dead
As of 00:00 on Wednesday 20 June CEST, over 130 people are reported to have died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and across the border in neighbouring Uganda in a new outbreak of the Ebola virus.
According to information published by the United States Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of 19 May, the ministries of health of DRC and Uganda have collectively reported a total of 536 suspected cases, 105 probable cases, 34 confirmed cases and 134 deaths.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also reported that the virus is likely to have spread faster than originally thought. Speaking to BBC Newsday, the WHO's Dr Anne Ancia said DRC's Ituri province - a hotspot of the outbreak - was a "very unsecured area with lots of movement of population", making it difficult for the agency to investigate and help control the disease.
She continued: "The more we are investigating this outbreak, the more we realise that it has already disseminated at least a little bit across border and also in other provinces."
Although the outbreak was first detected on 24 April, it is feared this Bundibugyo strain of the virus had already been spreading for several weeks. There is no vaccine for Bundibugyo virus and treatment consists of supportive care. Death rates from the Bundibugyo virus strain have historically ranged from 25 to 50 percent.
On Monday 18 May, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak a "public health emergency of continental security".
