Six suspected Ebola cases reported from the Democratic Republic of Congo
At least six suspected cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) are being reported from Aketi, Bas-Uele District in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) bulletin.
This comes just six months after an Ebola outbreak in the country, which ended Nov. 26, 2012. That outbreak, with its epicenter in Isiro, resulted in 62 cases and 34 deaths.
A team from the provincial health division is on the ground to investigate and to take samples, according to the UN bulletin.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever was first recognized in 1976 and was named after a river in the Congo. It received a lot of popular attention thanks to the best-seller, “The Hot Zone”.
Infections with Ebola virus are acute. There is no carrier state. Because the natural reservoir of the virus is unknown, the manner in which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak has not been determined.
People can be exposed to Ebola virus from direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. Thus, the virus is often spread through families and friends because they come in close contact with such secretions when caring for infected persons. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions.
The incubation period for Ebola HF ranges from 2 to 21 days. The onset of illness is abrupt and is characterized by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients.
The death rate for Ebola HF can be up to 90%. There is no standard treatment for Ebola HF.
For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
Looking for a job in health care? Check here to see what’s available
Chagas in Black and White: T-shirts, coffee mugs and other merchandise featuring the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi
Giardia in Black and White: T-shirts, coffee mugs and other merchandise with a clean, computerized image of a Giardia intestinalis trophozoite
Blood flukes in Black and White : T-shirts, coffee mugs and other merchandise with a clean, computerized image of the three schistosomes
[…] Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) bulletin, which reported on six suspected cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), health officials in the DRC say that Ebola […]