The deadly viral disease Ebola has resurfaced in Africa, and health officials expel vaccines and other measures to stop her distribution. As of Tuesday, there were at least 11 cases and seven deaths in two countries, including Guinea a massive outbreak in 2013 11,000 are dead. Several other African countries are now strongly ready.
In Guinea, at least seven have been cases report since early February, with three victims having died so far. This is the first outbreak in the region since the 2013-2016 epidemic that swept across West Africa and even led shortly to countries outside Africa, including the US. It was the largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, with nearly 30,000 cases and 11,000 deaths reported.
Elsewhere, the Democratic Republic of Congo – located in Central Africa – report four cases during the same period, with two deaths so far. The DRC has faced the bulk of the Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976, including an outbreak that lasted from 2018 to 2020 and killed more than 2,000 (the second largest death number ever). It is not yet known whether the outbreaks in Guinea and the DRC are linked. But according to Reuters, the DRC officials did it confirm through genetic analysis that their current group can be traced back to the earlier outbreak in 2018. Genetic analysis of the virus occurring in Guinea is still ongoing and should provide answers soon.
On Monday, Guinea officially declare An Ebola epidemic, while the DRC did so on 7 February. The World Health Organization has done the same now warned six countries bordering Guinea should be on the lookout for issues, including Liberia and Sierra Leone. Thosthree countries were hit hardest during the 2013-2016 epidemic.
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Much has changed since then – namely the development of a very effective vaccine by the company Merck as well as antiviral drugs (Merck’s vaccine was deployed shortly at the end of the 2014 outbreak but do not see much use until 2018). But Africa, like many parts of the world, is still grappling with the covid-19 pandemic. The WHO said on Tuesday that stocks of vaccines and drugs were being sent to Guinea and nearby countries. The United Nations too announced today that it will award $ 15 million in first aid funds to help the response in both countries.
Ebola is a zoonotic disease, which means that the virus occurs in nature (probably bats) spill over to people. But if the DRC group is linked to an earlier outbreak, it may indicate that it was started by humans in some way survivor. In humans, it is spread through close contact with the body fluids of an infected person, which can include sex. Some people are familiar to carry the virus months after survival of the test, usually in parts of the body that are less monitored by the immune system, such as the eyes and sperm. At this stage it is not known how one of the outbreaks started.
Symptoms of Ebola includes fever, headache, and muscle pain that can quickly lead to severe and fatal internal bleeding. Ebola mortality rates can range from 25% to 90%, although it is usually around 50%.