Ebola cases sharply up in eastern DR Congo

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Twenty cases of Ebola have been recorded in three days in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where deadly violence is hampering efforts to end the 16-month-old epidemic, the authorities said on Thursday. Ten cases were notified on Wednesday alone in Mabalako in North Kivu province, after six on Tuesday, according to the Multisectoral Committee for Epidemic […]

Continue reading »

Second Ebola vaccine introduced in DR Congo

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo Thursday introduced a second vaccine to fight the deadly Ebola virus in the east of the country, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity said. It said the new vaccine, produced by a Belgian subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is aimed at protecting about 50,000 people over a period of four months. More than […]

Continue reading »

Second Ebola vaccine to be used in DR Congo next month

Doctors will use a second Ebola vaccine from November in three eastern provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight the deadly virus, medical officials said Sunday. “It’s time to use the new Ad26-ZEBOV-GP vaccine, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson’s Belgian subsidiary,” said Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, who leads the national anti-Ebola operation in the DRC. It will arrive in […]

Continue reading »

Cholera kills scores in DR Congo, Niger

A cholera epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 127 people since February, while a further 22 have died in Niger, officials said on Wednesday. “A total of 2,100 patients are currently being treated and since February we have registered 125 deaths,” said Hippolyte Mutombo Mbwebwe, health minister in the eastern Kasai region. Ten more cases, including two […]

Continue reading »

In DR Congo city, worry and anger over Ebola scare

People in Mbandaka in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were fearful and angry Friday after an Ebola outbreak spread from remote villages to their densely-populated city. A wave of concern rippled through the Congo River port city after the World Health Organization (WHO) and the DRC’s health ministry on Thursday reported a confirmed case of the deady viral disease […]

Continue reading »