Ebola outbreak

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Just as Ebola Epidemic Was Nearly Defeated, a Big Problem

Patient flees, sparking fears flare-up will become a larger outbreak

(Newser) - An Ebola patient has escaped from a clinic in eastern Congo, leading to fears that a flare-up of the hemorrhagic fever that started April 10 won't be so easily contained. The Democratic Republic of Congo hadn't seen a new case in more than seven weeks, and was two...

Ebola Drugs Did So Well Researchers Stopped the Tests

Instead, the drugs are being put to immediate use in Congo

(Newser) - Two of four experimental Ebola drugs being tested in Congo seem to be saving lives, international health authorities announced Monday. The preliminary findings prompted an early halt to a major study on the drugs and a decision to prioritize their use in the African country, where a yearlong outbreak has...

First Ebola Case Confirmed in City of 2M
Ebola Reaches City of 2M

Ebola Reaches City of 2M

Infected pastor traveled to Goma, Congo

(Newser) - The Congolese health ministry confirmed an Ebola case in Goma late Sunday, marking the first time the virus has reached the city of more than 2 million people along the border with Rwanda since the epidemic began nearly a year ago. The health ministry says the man, who arrived earlier...

They'd Hoped to Contain Ebola in the Congo. That Plan Failed

2 have died in Uganda, and there are more suspected cases

(Newser) - The World Health Organization has called an emergency meeting Friday over an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has now made its way into Uganda. Citing Ugandan Health Ministry information, the New York Times reports that two people—a 5-year-old Congolese boy and his 50-year-old grandmother—died...

Ebola Health Worker Killed by Villagers

Democratic Republic of Congo continues to struggle to contain outbreak

(Newser) - Health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to struggle to effectively combat the deadly virus that's currently raging in an "out of control" outbreak : On Saturday, villagers killed a health worker, AFP reports, citing the daily health ministry bulletin dated Sunday. "Part of the population...

Ebola Outbreak Is 'Out of Control'
Ebola Outbreak Is
'Out of Control'

Ebola Outbreak Is 'Out of Control'

Experts warn that a ceasefire is needed in the DRC

(Newser) - The Democratic Republic of Congo's devastating Ebola outbreak is the second-biggest in history , but experts are now saying it's out of control and could end up rivaling the worst epidemic ever, which devastated three west African countries between 2013 and 2016. More than 1,600 people in the...

Doctor Possibly Exposed to Ebola Is Now in Nebraska

US doctor was working at a missionary hospital in Democratic Republic of Congo

(Newser) - A US doctor possibly exposed to the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now back in the US. The unidentified 39-year-old treated a "severely ill" patient at a missionary hospital who later tested positive for the deadly virus, Politico reports. A day later, the US physician...

Ebola Outbreak Now History's 2nd-Biggest

Almost 400 cases confirmed in northeast Congo

(Newser) - Congo's deadly Ebola outbreak is now the second largest in history, behind the devastating West Africa outbreak that killed thousands a few years ago, the World Health Organization said Thursday. WHO's emergencies chief, Dr. Peter Salama, called it a "sad toll" as Congo's health ministry announced...

Latest Ebola Outbreak Could Be Uncontainable

Bad news from CDC director, other experts

(Newser) - For the first time since Ebola was identified in 1976, the disease could become a persistent presence. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield warned Monday that the new outbreak in Congo is so severe it may not be containable, the Washington Post reports. Most previous outbreaks have...

Denver Hospital Isolates Man With Suspected Ebola

Initial tests came back negative

(Newser) - There were echoes of the 2014 Ebola scare in Denver Sunday after a man who'd been working with virus victims in the Congo suddenly became extremely ill. The man, who returned to the US a few days ago, was hospitalized and placed in isolation, as were three members of...

Ebola Situation Evolves in 'Concerning' Way Overnight

City of Mbandaka now reports 3 confirmed cases, a worrisome first for Congolese urban areas

(Newser) - Developments in a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken what one health official deems a "concerning" turn overnight. Per the Guardian , Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the head of the country's National Institute for Biomedical Research, says lab results have confirmed two additional cases of Ebola in Mbandaka;...

Ebola Outbreak Enters Worrying New Phase

First cases detected in a city in Congo

(Newser) - Congo's health minister says Ebola has spread to a city, the capital of Equateur province, a worrying shift in the new outbreak in the northwest, the AP reports. Health Minister Oly Ilunga says two suspected cases of hemorrhagic fever were reported in the Wangata health zones, which includes Mbandaka...

New Ebola Outbreak Confirmed in Congo

17 with signs of hemorrhagic fever have already died

(Newser) - The world has a new Ebola outbreak on its hands. The Democratic Republic of Congo declared an outbreak Monday after samples taken from two of five patients in the country's northwest province of Equateur tested positive for the Zaire strain of Ebola. More testing is underway, and NPR reports...

Ebola Outbreak Fueled by Incredibly Tiny Minority
Ebola Outbreak Fueled
by Incredibly Tiny Minority
new study

Ebola Outbreak Fueled by Incredibly Tiny Minority

Researchers look at what happened in West Africa from 2014 to 2015

(Newser) - Scientists are investigating minorities, but it's not how it sounds. So-called "super-spreaders" are a small group of people who, for whatever reason, turn out to be the major driver behind the spread of diseases, and scientists report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that super-spreaders...

You Could Have Ebola and Not Even Know It
You Could Have Ebola
and Not Even Know It
NEW STUDY

You Could Have Ebola and Not Even Know It

Up to 25% of infections may be 'minimally symptomatic'

(Newser) - Ebola doesn't always show itself through fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. A new PLOS study finds that some people with the virus show mild or no symptoms at all—a potential concern for preventing its spread. Researchers who visited the village of Sukudu in Sierra Leone, a hot spot in...

New Ebola Death Confirmed Hours After Outbreak Declared Over

Virus claims life in Sierra Leone

(Newser) - Hours after the World Health Organization declared an end to the Ebola outbreak that has plagued West Africa for some two years, officials in Sierra Leone on Thursday confirmed a new death from the virus, BBC reports. The WHO has warned, the BBC notes, that flare-ups are expected. "We...

With 11.3K Dead, Ebola Outbreak Is Officially Over

Liberia reaches 42-day benchmark with no new cases

(Newser) - The World Health Organization declared an end to the deadliest Ebola outbreak ever on Thursday after no new cases emerged in Liberia, though health officials warn that it will be several more months before the world is considered free of the disease that claimed more than 11,300 lives over...

Days After Last Sierra Leone Patient, Ebola Rises Again

New death confirmed just as country has released last patient

(Newser) - Health officials in Sierra Leone today confirmed an Ebola death less than a week after the country's last known patient was discharged from a hospital. Samples from the body of a 67-year-old woman who died recently in Kambia district in the country's north came back positive for the...

Experimental Ebola Vaccine Could Grind Virus to a Halt

WHO trial saw zero cases among those tested with new vaccine

(Newser) - An experimental vaccine tested on thousands in Guinea exposed to Ebola seems to work and might shut down the epidemic in West Africa, according to interim results from a World Health Organization study out today. "If proven effective, this is going to be a game-changer," said WHO director...

'Damning' Report: WHO 'Unfit' in Emergencies

It lacks 'capacity and culture,' bungled Ebola response

(Newser) - An independent report commissioned by the World Health Organization and deemed "damning" by the BBC has found the WHO lacks the "capacity and culture" to handle global health emergencies. The report notes the organization delayed too long in responding to the Ebola crisis—something the WHO has admitted...

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