The deadly viral disease Ebola has reappeared in Africa, and health officials are rushing with vaccines and other measures to stop them spread. As of Tuesday, there were at least 11 cases and seven deaths in two countries, including Guinea, that had a massive outbreak in 2013 which eventually left 11,000 dead. Several other African countries are now on high alert.
In Guinea, at least seven cases were reported since the beginning of February, with three victims who have died so far. It is the first outbreak in the region since the 2013-2016 epidemic that passed through West Africa and even made its way briefly to countries outside Africa, including the United States. It was the largest and deadliest outbreak of Ebola in recorded history, with nearly 30,000 cases and 11,000 reported deaths.
Elsewhere, the Democratic Republic of Congo – located in Central Africa – has reported four cases in the same period, with two deaths so far. The DRC has faced most outbreaks of Ebola since the virus was first discovered in 1976, including an outbreak that occurred between 2018 and 2020 and left more than 2,000 dead ( the second largest the number of deaths ever). It is not yet known whether the outbreaks in Guinea and the DRC are connected. But according to Reuters, DRC officials did confirmed through genetic analysis that their current group can be traced back to the previous outbreak in 2018. Genetic analysis of the virus found in Guinea is still ongoing and should provide answers soon.
Monday, official Guinea declared an Ebola epidemic, while the DRC had it on February 7th. The World Health Organization has done so even now ADVISED six countries bordering Guinea are looking for cases, including Liberia and Sierra Leone. ThosThe three countries were most affected during the 2013-2016 epidemic.
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A lot has changed since then – namely, development of a highly effective vaccine by Merck as well as antiviral drugs (Merck vaccine was briefly implemented at the end of 2014 but did not see widespread use until 2018). But Africa, like many parts of the world, is still battling the covid-19 pandemic. The WHO said on Tuesday that stockpiles of vaccines and medicines were being sent to Guinea and neighboring countries. The United Nations, too has announced today that will be allot $ 15 million in emergency aid funds to help respond in both countries.
Ebola is a zoonotic disease, which means that the virus is found naturally in the wild (probably bats) and then it spills over into people. If the DRC cluster is connected to a previous outbreak, however, this may indicate that it was somehow started by a human survivor. In humans, it spreads through close contact with the body fluids of an infected person, which may include sex. Some people are known to carry the virus a few months after surviving their ordeal, usually in parts of the body less monitored by the immune system, such as the eyes and semen. At this time, it is not known how any outbreak began.
symptom Ebola include fever, headache, and muscle pain that can progress rapidly to severe and fatal internal bleeding. The Ebola mortality rate can range from 25% to 90%, although it is usually around 50%.