<
https://www.science.org/content/article/major-outbreak-rare-ebola-virus-species-northern-congo-alarms-scientists>
"Ebola is no stranger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has
seen more than a dozen outbreaks since the virus was first identified there 50
years ago. But a new outbreak, announced on 15 May by the Ministry of Public
Health, has raised more red flags than usual and alarmed the international
health community.
The health ministry said there are already 246 suspected cases, including 80
deaths, in the remote province of Ituri, suggesting the virus spread widely
before it was identified. Two more cases, including one death, have been
confirmed in Kampala, the capital of neighboring Uganda, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak a public
health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in the early morning of 17
May, an indication of how serious the situation is. The agency warned of a
“potentially much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and
reported, with significant local and regional risk of spread.”
The virus is a rare species called Ebola Bundibugyo, which standard field tests
often miss and for which no vaccines or therapeutics exist.
The earliest known case is a nurse who developed symptoms on 24 April and died
at the Evangelical Medical Center in Bunia, Ituri’s capital. Tests at the
National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in the DRC’s capital,
Kinshasa, have so far confirmed Ebola in samples taken from eight patients.
Four of them were nurses, suggesting the virus has spread in health care
facilities. There are also suspected cases in neighboring North Kivu province,
according to WHO.
The rapid spread demands a rapid response, says Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist
at the University of California, Los Angeles who has worked on disease
outbreaks in the DRC for many years. “You want to be able to get in there and
extinguish that fire as soon as you possibly can,” she says."
Via Violet Blue’s
Threat Model - Ebola - Hantavirus - Covid: May 21, 2026
https://www.patreon.com/posts/ebola-hantavirus-158834285
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
