Ebola hospital in Liberia. Yahoo/AFP
Laboratory tests confirmed that at least two people who had died in a mysterious viral outbreak had Ebola. Yahoo/AFP. Ebola was first discovered in The Democratic Republic of Congo and this is the 7th outbreak. They have experience fighting the disease and claim that this outbreak is contained to the area around Jera. It is unclear if this outbreak is related to the outbreak in West Africa.
My Comment:
It doesn't really matter if this is a new outbreak or connected to the old one. Ebola has surfaced in a 5th country. Nothing good will come from this. At least Congo has a lot of experience fighting the disease. This outbreak should be much more like previous Ebola outbreaks that burn out quickly then the one happening in West Africa since it has not spread to any major cities. The conditions in West African cities are much more optimal for the spread of the disease then the isolated area in the Congo that this outbreak is contained too.
I'm somewhat surprised at this report. I had heard about this outbreak (but didn't cover it here) and previous reports had this as some other hemorrhagic fever and not Ebola. I'm assuming that if the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is saying it is Ebola, then it is probably Ebola. Still, I wonder what the source was for the other explanation?
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