The Democratic Republic of Congo is grappling with a large-scale Ebola outbreak. According to the latest government figures, the virus has infected 9,066 people, of whom 4,381 have died. Local and international doctors are trying to contain the spread of the infection in several major hotspots, but the number of cases and deaths continues to rise, reports infohub.kz.
The virus has already begun to spread beyond Congo. Earlier this year, an outbreak was recorded in Uganda: 20 people were infected, two of whom died, but by August the authorities had completely stopped the infection. However, last week alarming news came from Kenya. The country recorded its first "imported" Ebola case: a man who had returned from Congo via Uganda died in a Nairobi hospital.
There is also a known case of Ebola being brought to France. The infected person was a doctor who had arrived from Congo. He was immediately hospitalized and all contacts were checked.
Recall that Ebola fever is transmitted exclusively through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person (whether living or deceased). The infection is extremely severe. It causes high fever, severe gastrointestinal distress, and in critical cases leads to extensive internal and external bleeding.
"Kursiv" previously reported that the Bundibugyo strain was first identified almost 20 years ago, in 2007. It is much rarer than the better-known Zaire ebolavirus strain. It is poorly studied and associated with high mortality.