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The World Health Organization (WHO) has alerted six African countries to watch out for potential cases of Ebola after it emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea.
The DRC declared the emergence of Ebola on February 7 while Guinea declared the outbreak on Sunday.
“We have already alerted the six countries around, including of course Sierra Leone and Liberia, and they are moving very fast to prepare and be ready and to look for any potential infection,” the WHO’s Margaret Harris told a Geneva briefing.
"Nous savons maintenant qu'il y a 7 cas d'Ebola, 3 confirmés, 4 probables en #Guinée et 3 d'entre eux sont décédés. Nous avons identifié 115 contacts et la majorité d'entre eux ont été retrouvés" – @DrMargaretH de @WHO lors d'un point presse ce matin à @ONUGeneve pic.twitter.com/BpxElhrts4
Loading...— ONU Genève (@ONUGeneve) February 16, 2021
Meanwhile, the Ebola vaccination campaign kicked out Monday in areas where the epidemic was first reported.
🇨🇩:#Ebola vaccination campaign officially launched in #Butembo #DRC — just one week after the resurgence of the virus. Health workers at Matanda health centre, where the first Ebola patient was treated, were the first to be vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/tNucuLpkrC
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) February 15, 2021
Between 2013 and 2016 more than 11,000 people died in the West Africa Ebola epidemic, which began in Guinea.
Ebola infects humans through close contact with infected animals, such as chimpanzees and fruit bats. It then spreads between humans by direct contact with infected blood, fluids, and organs.
It can also be spread indirectly through contact with contaminated environments.
