The World Health Organization says the deadly Ebola virus outbreak in the Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has the potential to spread beyond its borders.
The latest number of infections in the province is 113, including 48 deaths. The outbreak has spread to 12 of the province’s 17 health regions. One of these regions borders the Republic of Congo.
The World Health Organization has warned that the situation could lead to the spread of the disease to another country. The organization’s spokesman, Fadlal Chaib, told VOA that the risk level is now elevated because the outbreak is also occurring in Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur province.
The population there is highly mobile,” Chaibou said. Mbandaka is an important distribution center for people and goods on the Congo River, and there is a fear of this disease,” Chaibu said. Because it’s a trading hub, the World Health Organization is helping to screen travelers.”
The risk of the Mbandaka outbreak spreading along the Congo River waterway to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is worrisome, Chaib said.
To prevent the outbreak from spreading wider, the WHO says it has screened nearly 1 million people at 46 key sites to see if they are infected with the virus. The screening has revealed 72 suspected cases of Ebola infection. This initiative has helped reduce the spread of the epidemic.
Equateur Province is a vast area with dense forests. Traveling in that province takes a long time. According to the World Health Organization, it is difficult to control the spread of the epidemic because it is not easy for medical personnel to travel to outbreak areas and identify and treat people infected with the Ebola virus.
Another problem in controlling the spread of the Ebola outbreak is funding. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the novel coronavirus epidemic is taking most of the resources and attention away from the Ebola epidemic, resulting in limited attention to the Ebola epidemic. The WHO has called for a $40 million donation to control the spread of the epidemic. However, this appeal has gone largely unanswered.
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