Ebola

Radio Okapi, a network operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), reported on Wednesday that samples of the deadly Ebola virus are being transported on public vehicles in certain parts of the outbreak region, because the poor transportation resources of the area left health officials with few alternatives.

The French Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on Wednesday confirmed its first case of Ebola from the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale said on Tuesday he has halted construction of a U.S.-backed Ebola treatment center at the Laikipia Air Base.

The Ministry of Health for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said on Sunday that over 1,000 cases of Ebola have now been confirmed, with 254 deaths.

Officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed on Tuesday that unknown knife-wielding attackers abducted two people, a woman and her six-year-old child, from an Ebola treatment center. Both victims are believed to have tested positive for the disease.

Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control (Africa CDC) warned on Tuesday that the current outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could become the worst ever recorded since so many of the people who came into contact with Ebola victims have yet to be traced and tested.

A field coordinator for humanitarian group Oxfam warned on Tuesday that supplies of clean water — the “first line of defense” against the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — are “simply not available.”

Olivier le Polain, an epidemiologist with the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), said on Friday that there are still “many blind spots in some areas that are high risk,” so the full extent of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains unclear.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that two babies have died of Ebola at a church-run orphanage in the eastern Congolese province of Ituri, the epicenter of the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak.

Leaders of the protests against construction of a U.S.-built quarantine center for Ebola in Kenya claim police shot a protester on Tuesday.

The DR Congo counted 101 fatalities, 19 recoveries, and 550 confirmed cases in the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak as of Sunday.

Multiple reports indicate that the State Department is encouraging European countries to impose Ebola travel restrictions.

The latest World Health Organization (W.H.O.) update on the Ebola outbreak centered in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this weekend confirmed 534 cases of the disease in the area, including 93 confirmed deaths.

Roger Kamba, Minister of Public Health for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), complained on Friday that travel restrictions against his country due to the Ebola outbreak are “discriminatory” and cannot be justified by science or medicine.

Fighters from an insurgent group linked to the Islamic State killed 16 civilians in the eastern Congo, the area of the Ebola outbreak.

World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus demanded on Wednesday that countries imposing travel restrictions on visitors to stop the spread of the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lift them, claiming they were harming containment efforts.

Two people were reportedly “shot dead” on Monday during protests in Kenya against a planned Ebola isolation center for Americans at a military installation.

The international vaccine development and distribution organization Gavi announced this week that it had committed $50 million to responding to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), $40 million of which would go to building up supply chains in preparation of mass production of an Ebola Bundibugyo vaccine.

A friendly soccer match between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Chile in Spain was cancelled by local authorities over concerns regarding the Ebola outbreak sweeping Africa.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday announced the reopening of the airport in Bunia, the capital city of Ituri province, which is the epicenter of the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak.

The Chinese state newspaper Global Times quoted an alleged “expert” assuring residents of the country that the threat of an outbreak of Ebola there remains low despite the close economic ties between the Communist Party and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Brazilian health officials said on Saturday they were monitoring two suspected Ebola infections, both travelers who recently arrived from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, the epicenter of the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak.

UN health chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus landed on Saturday in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo province worst-hit by a severe Ebola outbreak, an AFP journalist saw.

World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday evening, seeking to support the medical response to the fast-growing outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo.

Soccer authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) affirmed on Wednesday that its national team and support staff will be able to abide by all public health protocols to participate in the FIFA World Cup scheduled to begin on June 11 and hosted by America, Canada, and Mexico.

An Africa court has put a stop to a United States plan to establish a quarantine facility in Kenya for Americans exposed to a rare type of Ebola virus instead of flying them home where it could increase the risk of a U.S. outbreak.

The director-general of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, lamented in remarks on Wednesday that violent attacks on health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have made contact tracing “nearly impossible,” significantly damaging attempts to contain the Ebola outbreak there.

A number of countries have confirmed they are imposing travel restrictions that ban arrivals who might possibly have been exposed to the Ebola virus.

Canada and the Bahamas on Tuesday announced temporary travel bans on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and South Sudan due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

Health officials in the Congo report patients are fleeing from Ebola clinics when they are attacked by angry mobs.

The worst fears of World Health Organization (W.H.O.) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus have been realized. The career Ethiopian bureaucrat confirmed late Monday the Ebola outbreak is outpacing response efforts in Africa and countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at high risk from the disease.

A second incident of Congolese youths storming an Ebola clinic to demand the return of infected bodies for funerals took place on Sunday evening, as the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) announced the number of suspected infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda has surpassed 900.

An Ebola vaccine based on the same technology that delivered the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab is being urgently developed by British scientists to help contain the deadly sub-strain enveloping the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its neighbors.

The government of Saudi Arabia reassured visitors on Friday that it is prepared to screen for and otherwise address any public health threats during the upcoming Hajj season, responding to growing international concern about the spread of Ebola and hantavirus.