Ebola: medics brace for new cases as DRC outbreak spreads
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/24/ebola-drc-outbreak-spreads
An outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached a pivotal moment and now endangers medical teams fighting to stop the spread of the disease, health workers have said.
Dr Peter Salama, the World Health Organisation’s emergencies chief, said there were 103 confirmed and probable cases in the outbreak, which is centred in the eastern province of North Kivu, and that another wave of cases was expected.
The DRC’s Health Ministry 36 deaths. Another 27 deaths were suspected to be from Ebola, it said. Salama said 14 healthcare workers had been infected so far, one of whom had died.
Several cases of Ebola have already been identified in the city of Beni, raising fears of further infection in a crowded urban centre.
A significant problem is the belief among many local communities in and around Beni that the outbreak has been caused by sorcery, local civil society activists said.