This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/ebola-new-outbreak-congo-deaths-democratic-republic-a8341866.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Ebola: 17 people die as new outbreak of virus is reported in Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola: 17 people die as new outbreak of virus is reported in Democratic Republic of Congo
(35 minutes later)
Seventeen people are reported to have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo after health officials declared an Ebola outbreak in the central African country. At least 17 people have died in an area of the Democratic Republic of Congo where health officials have declared an Ebola outbreak.
Local health officials said an additional 21 patients were showing signs of haemorrhagic fever. A health ministry statement said the central African country was "facing another epidemic" less than a year after its last Ebola outbreak killed eight people.
Medical teams dispatched to the zone took five samples from suspected active cases and two tested positive for the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, the ministry said in a statement.Medical teams dispatched to the zone took five samples from suspected active cases and two tested positive for the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, the ministry said in a statement.
​DRC was not affected by the major 2014 outbreak of the virus, which killed thousands of people across west Africa.​DRC was not affected by the major 2014 outbreak of the virus, which killed thousands of people across west Africa.
Earlier on Tuesday Congo's health ministry confirmed two cases of Ebola in the country's northwest, with a further 10 suspected cases. But in recent decades there have been a number of outbreaks there caused by the Zaire Ebola species.
DRC’s health minister, Oly Ilunga, said [in French] a rapid response team would be deployed to the Équateur Province in the northwest of the country on Wednesday morning. Ebola first emerged in 1976 in what is now the DRC, and is named after a river in the country.
Ebola first emerged in 1976 in what is now the DRC, and is named after a river in the country. Health minister Oly Ilunga said [in French] a rapid response team would be deployed to the Équateur Province in the northwest of the country on Wednesday morning.
In recent decades there have been a number of outbreaks there caused by the Zaire Ebola species. "Our country is facing another epidemic of the Ebola virus, which constitutes an international public health emergency," the ministry added in a statement.
The virus is spread in the blood, body fluids or organs of a person or animal with the infection. "We still dispose of the well trained human resources that were able to rapidly control previous epidemics."
Ebola is believed to be spread over long distances by bats, which can host the virus without dying, as it infects other animals it shares trees with such as monkeys. It often spreads to humans via infected bushmeat.
The virus is also spread person-to-person in the blood, body fluids or organs of someone with the infection.
There are currently no licensed treatments or vaccines for Ebola, although potential new therapies are currently under development.There are currently no licensed treatments or vaccines for Ebola, although potential new therapies are currently under development.
More follows... After Congo's last Ebola flare-up, authorities there approved the use of a new experimental vaccine but in the end did not deploy it owing to logistical challenges and the relatively minor nature of the outbreak.