A rare strain of the Ebola virus, Bundibugyo, is spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, against which there is currently no registered vaccine. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international emergency.
According to AP, the number of victims has already exceeded 118 people, about 300 more cases are considered suspicious. The disease was recorded in the provinces of Itori and North Kivu, as well as in Uganda.
The WHO explained that the response to the outbreak was delayed due to the difficulty of diagnosis. The first tests mistakenly failed to confirm the infection.
"Laboratories spent weeks testing samples for the more common Zaire strain, which delayed the response by several weeks," the report says.
Of particular concern was the case of the infection of American doctor Peter Stafford, who worked at a hospital in the city of Bunia. He, along with six other US citizens who had contact with the patients, are being evacuated to Germany for medical observation.
The Bundibugyo strain has only been recorded twice before - in Uganda in 2007-2008 and in Congo in 2012. The virus causes fever, severe muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea and internal bleeding.
"There is no approved vaccine or drug against this strain," doctors say.
Amid the outbreak, the US has temporarily banned entry to foreigners who have been in Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the past three weeks. Rwanda has also closed its land border with Congo.
The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control said he was in "panic mode" due to a shortage of drugs and vaccines.
The situation is being complicated by the humanitarian crisis in the region: in Itori province, there are more than 273,000 internally displaced people, and armed groups continue to operate nearby.
As we will recall, in September last year, a new Ebola outbreak was recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo: 15 deaths and dozens of suspected cases.
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