Eastern Congo's Ebola outbreak has killed more than 1,500 people and infected nearly 3,500, surpassing every prior outbreak in speed and raising urgent questions about a virus strain with no approved vaccine or treatment. Official data released Thursday put the death toll at 1,521, with 3,442 total cases recorded as of Tuesday. Those numbers represent […] The post Congo's Ebola death toll blows past 1,500 in fastest-growing outbreak ever recorded appeared first on American Almanac .
Eastern Congo's Ebola outbreak has killed more than 1,500 people and infected nearly 3,500, surpassing every prior outbreak in speed and raising urgent questions about a virus strain with no approved vaccine or treatment. Official data released Thursday put the death toll at 1,521, with 3,442 total cases recorded as of Tuesday. Those numbers represent roughly a 50 percent spike in about one week, a rate of spread that dwarfs every Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified in 1976. The Associated Press reported that the current crisis has "killed more people at a quicker rate than any previous outbreak," including the 2014, 2016 West Africa epidemic that had been considered the worst on record. That earlier outbreak killed more…Open
Congo's fastest-growing Ebola outbreak has now killed at least 930 people in just over two months, and health officials cannot track where most new infections are coming from. Congo's Ministry of Health reported 2,344 confirmed Ebola cases as of Saturday, with 37 new deaths recorded in a single 24-hour window, one of the highest single-day […] The post Congo's Ebola death toll hits 930 as outbreak outpaces every one on record appeared first on American Almanac .
Congo's fastest-growing Ebola outbreak has now killed at least 930 people in just over two months, and health officials cannot track where most new infections are coming from. Congo's Ministry of Health reported 2,344 confirmed Ebola cases as of Saturday, with 37 new deaths recorded in a single 24-hour window, one of the highest single-day tolls since the crisis began. The ministry's statement, issued overnight into Monday, offered a grim snapshot of a disease spreading faster than the government or international agencies can contain it. The outbreak was declared on May 15 in eastern Congo. In roughly nine weeks it has become, by multiple accounts, the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. The pathogen responsible is the Bundibugyo…Open
Scientists believe that the Bundibugyo virus persists in an animal species, occasionally spilling over into humans. But they have yet to identify the species.
The Bundibugyo virus, a little known type, previously had caused just two small outbreaks. Now it’s at the center of a rapidly widening epidemic in Africa.
The outbreak remains focused in Congo's eastern Ituri province. Congo has reported over 1,000 suspected cases with the Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved treatment or vaccine.
Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Robert Redfield has warned that this month's Ebola outbreak in Africa could escalate into a significant pandemic.
Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Robert Redfield has warned that this month’s Ebola outbreak in Africa could escalate into a significant pandemic . PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: Experts have warned that the current Ebola outbreak could turn into significant pandemic as the disease spreads to several East African countries. DETAIL: On Wednesday, Robert Redfield, former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), warned that this month’s Ebola outbreak in Africa could become a “very significant pandemic“ and a threat to global health. The warning follows news that the disease has likely spread to several East African countries, specifically Tanzania, South Sudan, and…Open