Ebola outbreak spreads to a major city in the Congo.

Aid workers help a sick man after confirming he doesn't have Ebola. ABC News/AFP.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a major city. ABC News. The virus has now spread to the city of Butembo, which has a population of almost a million people. 25 confirmed cases have been found in the city so far. It is twice the size of Beni, where the outbreak is currently centered. Butembo is a major trade hub with links to other cities in the Congo as well as neighboring Uganda. 471 cases of Ebola have been suspected in this outbreak and 423 of those being confirmed. 273 deaths have occurred with 225 confirmed deaths caused by the Ebola virus. Health organizations are having trouble responding to the outbreak due to attacks on aid workers by rebel groups. They are delivering vaccines to the outbreak zone but outside of the main epicenters. Over 40,000 people have been vaccinated so far. Health officials say that without the vaccine 10,000 people could have been effected at this point. 

My Comment:

Not a good development for this outbreak, which is now the 2nd worst in history. Butembo is a major city with almost 1 million people, meaning there is a huge new population to infect. There are only 25 confirmed cases so far but that number could increase fairly quickly. 

Ebola spreads through contact with infected fluids. There is some minor evidence that it can spread via sneezes or other aerosols, but that was under perfect laboratory conditions. People are most at risk when they are helping sick victims. 

Ebola can be prevented from spreading by identifying victims, isolating people that have been exposed and taking major steps to protect aid workers. Vaccinations can also prevent the disease before people contract the disease. 

These efforts have been massively complicated by the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Local jihadist rebels have been attacking government troops and aid workers. This has prevented aid workers from helping the people in Beni and is a major reason why the disease is spreading. 

Things will probably get worse with this outbreak. Butembo is a major city and I haven't seen any evidence that they are in any better shape than Beni is. The security situation is not great so reaction may be difficult. 

It's also possible that the outbreak will spread to other cities in the Congo and even Uganda. With plenty of violence and Butembo being a major trade hub there is always a chance that someone can carry the virus with them to somewhere else. I don't think we have to worry too much about the virus spreading outside of the region. It's probably too early to talk about travel bans, but it is a situation is one to keep an eye on. 

The trump card though is the vaccination. If the health official quoted in the ABC News report is correct, we could have had 10,000 cases already without the vaccine. If that is true this outbreak would likely quickly escalate beyond the 2013-2016 outbreak that killed 11,325 people. It would be a global health threat, not a local one. We should all be thankful that the last outbreak that led to an effective treatment for Ebola.