Goma: Congo has confirmed 33 cases of Ebola virus in the past week, of whom 24 died, the health ministry said on Monday.
Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak is expected to last several months and could spread to Uganda or Rwanda, which are well prepared but have not approved use of a vaccine, according to the World Health Organisation.
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The ministry said the latest cases were confirmed between October 8 and 14. In total, more than 200 suspected cases of the deadly hemorrhagic fever have been reported since the outbreak began in July, all but a couple of dozen of them confirmed, while some 130 people have died.
Some Ebola victims are suspicious of health workers, fearing that hospitalisation is a death sentence – despite the obvious risks of missing out on treatment – while some families insist on conducting traditional burials, which can spread the virus.
Ebola has no known cure, but four treatments have been given to 66 patients, which emergency response chief Peter Salama described as “a big breakthrough”. With government approval, a clinical trial could start within weeks to identify the most reliable drug, he said.
(Reuters)