congo_ebola

Hundreds die in worst Ebola outbreak in Congo’s history

pharmafile | November 12, 2018 | News story | Sales and Marketing  

Hundreds have died in a recent outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in what has been described as the worst outbreak in the country’s history.

More than 300 have fallen ill, while nearly 200 have died since August of this year, as the war torn country has struggled to keep the deadly virus under control.

“At this point, 319 cases and 198 deaths have been registered,” health minister Oly Ilunga said.

“In view of these figures, my thoughts and my prayers go to the hundreds of families grieving, to the hundreds of orphans and the families which have been wiped out.”

Around half of those who have died were from the north eastern city of Beni in the North Kivu region of the country which has been plagued by conflict since 2004.

The recent outbreak is said to be the country’s worst outbreak of the disease since it was first discovered in the DRC in 1976. This is the 10th outbreak in the country since that time.

The country has experienced an upsurge in violence in recent years as conflict over resources has exploded into brutal fighting since 2016-2017. Funded by international business interests, competition for gold, diamonds, oil and cobalt has fuelled bloodshed in a war which is said to be comparable in scale to that of Syria or Iraq.

Louis Goss

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