All posts tagged: Democratic Republic of Congo

WHO chief visits epicentre of Ebola outbreak in DR Congo

WHO chief visits epicentre of Ebola outbreak in DR Congo

Published by Sam Flores

VACCINE RESEARCH No vaccine or specific treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is behind the current outbreak. But the head of the CDC Africa said on Thursday that a vaccine should be ready by the end of the year. On Saturday, the WHO said its experts had considered several potential vaccines that were “promising enough” to warrant evaluation in clinical trials. “In the meantime, our priority is to stop transmission with tools that we have used for decades of Ebola responses, which include disease surveillance, rapid testing and diagnosis, contact tracing, isolation and care for patients, infection prevention and control, community engagement, and safe and dignified burials,” it added in a statement. North and South Kivu provinces, that have also recorded Ebola cases in the outbreak, have been plagued by near continuous violence for three decades. Much of the affected regions are controlled by the Rwanda-backed armed group M23 which has been battling government forces. Millions of people have fled the fighting and are living in displacement camps with poor hygiene conditions. …

Europe beefs up Ebola detection as Congo epidemic surges – POLITICO

Europe beefs up Ebola detection as Congo epidemic surges – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Earlier this week Italy reported two suspected cases among passengers who had arrived from Uganda, but they later tested negative for Ebola, the disease prevention agency said. Meanwhile, Belgium has direct daily flights to and from Congo. Brussels Airlines said Wednesday it is making changes to its crew schedules given that the United States has banned entry to the country from the region, but added: “These changes are being implemented without affecting the current flight schedule.” “In times like these, flights are more vital than ever to keep the region connected and to allow vital medication and medically trained personnel to reach the affected areas,” the airline said in a statement. The airline, which is part of the Lufthansa Group, added that it remains “committed to maintaining its flight schedule whenever possible.” This deadly outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no treatments or vaccines. The World Health Organization said talks were ongoing with developers of two experimental vaccines, while German diagnostic firm Altona said it aimed to provide a test …

Ebola deaths surge 30 percent as Berlin prepares for patient – POLITICO

Ebola deaths surge 30 percent as Berlin prepares for patient – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Measures that specifically exclude foreigners are ineffective, said Jeanne Marrazzo, head of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “Diseases don’t have passports,” she said in a statement. “The fastest path to protecting all countries in the world is to aggressively support outbreak control at the source,” Jean Kaseya, head of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. “Global health security cannot be achieved through borders alone. It is achieved through partnership, trust, science, and rapid investment in preparedness and response capacity,” he added. Meanwhile, the American doctor being transferred to Germany, Peter Stafford, worked for the U.S. missionary organization Serge and treated Ebola patients in Nyankunde Hospital, Ituri. Stafford was one of three doctors treating patients in the region when the outbreak began. The other two doctors — his wife, Rebekah Stafford, and Patrick LaRochelle — have not yet shown any symptoms, according to Serge. The U.S. State Department said Monday it is coordinating “a comprehensive response” to the Ebola outbreak, “working closely with [the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] …

Aid cuts and war complicate Ebola response in Congo – POLITICO

Aid cuts and war complicate Ebola response in Congo – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

There are “at least 395 suspected cases” across the two countries, and “more than 100 people” have died, Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. But the real figures are likely much higher: A high rate of positive samples and increasing clusters point to a potentially much larger outbreak than currently detected, the WHO warned.  Health officials are also faced with a lack of vaccines or effective treatments. “This is my biggest worry because we need to see how to stop the transmission,” Kaseya told the BBC, adding that Africa CDC was working with authorities in both countries to contain the spread. Jennifer Serwanga, a Uganda-based Ebola expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the Bundibugyo strain driving the outbreak was “very serious,” with a fatality rate of between 30 and 50 percent. “It doesn’t have any vaccines, doesn’t have any treatments,” Serwanga, who is also principal research scientist at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, said. She warned that the outbreak appeared not to have been detected …

WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak – POLITICO

WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The WHO typically only declares a public health emergency of international concern — one rung below pandemic in its alert system — after consulting with an expert committee. In this case, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the call himself, citing the “extraordinary” situation and how little was known for sure about the true spread of the virus. “The event requires international coordination and cooperation to understand the extent of the outbreak, to coordinate surveillance, prevention and response efforts, to scale up and strengthen operations and ensure ability to implement control measures,” a statement from the WHO said. The alert comes on the eve of the WHO’s annual decision-making assembly in Geneva, where countries were due to finalize a treaty to protect the world from pandemic threats. Instead, negotiators will ask for more time after failing to resolve their differences on the sharing of pathogen samples and data, as well as drugs and vaccines. Source link

Terrifying Ebola warning issued by World Health Organisation | World | News

Terrifying Ebola warning issued by World Health Organisation | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

A vaccine trial in Uganda (Image: Getty) The World Health Organisation has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, warning of a potentially far larger epidemic than currently detected. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the declaration on Sunday following more than 300 suspected cases and at least 87 deaths. A laboratory-confirmed case has been reported in Congo’s capital Kinshasa, some 1,000km (620 miles) from the epicentre in Ituri province, while two confirmed cases, including one death, have reached Uganda’s capital Kampala. Tedros said: “There are significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time. Read more: Horror outbreak of ‘bleeding eyes’ disease confirmed as 65 people already dead Read more: Warning as scientist discover Hanatavirus can live in men’s sperm for six years “In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases.” The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which …

Faith leaders go door to door in Congo preaching peace amid renewed war

Faith leaders go door to door in Congo preaching peace amid renewed war

Published by Sam Flores

GOMA, Congo (RNS) — As gunfire and explosions echo across eastern Congo’s hills amid the ongoing violent conflict, another sound moves more quietly through the neighborhoods of Goma and surrounding displacement camps: the knock of faith leaders moving from door to door. Goma, the eastern Congolese city near the Rwandan border, has long stood at the center of the region’s recurring conflict and displacement crises. Once again, the city has become a refuge for families fleeing fresh violence in North and South Kivu. Each morning, pastors, priests, Catholic sisters and imams travel through conflict-hit streets, displacement camps and broken communities with Bibles, rosaries and words of peace. They pray with families who have lost loved ones, counsel young men tempted by revenge and try to preserve fragile ties between communities strained by war. “The battlefield is outside,” Francis Mbombo, an evangelical preacher, told RNS, “but the next war can begin inside a home.” The renewed violence in North and South Kivu, driven by advances by the M23 rebel group, drone strikes and retaliatory shelling, has …

Islamic State massacres Christians in front of their families

Islamic State massacres Christians in front of their families

Published by Sam Flores

The militants had disguised themselves as civilians to mingle among unsuspecting Christian mourners. Those at the wake in the village of Ntoyo in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had no clue until it was too late. The fighters from the Islamic State (IS)-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group suddenly began killing: hacking with axes and machetes and opening fire. One witness said he saw fighters kill his sister with an axe. Another described how fighters broke into her house and abducted her four daughters. A third witness found the bodies of her parents in the morning. Her father had been shot while her mother had been struck with a hammer. “I’d never seen so many bodies,” she told researchers from Amnesty International for a new report. The massacre in early September 2025 killed at least 60 people and was one of a string of such attacks. The ADF has killed, kidnapped and tortured across swathes of eastern DRC. Women and girls in the DRC said they had been abducted and abused by ADF fighters …

Abrupt withdrawal of aid imperils our response to deadly disease outbreaks

Abrupt withdrawal of aid imperils our response to deadly disease outbreaks

Published by Sam Flores

At the end of last year, an Ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasai province was officially declared over. You might be surprised to learn that it was the 16th outbreak of Ebola disease in the country since Ebola was first identified in 1976. In fact, it was the second Ebola outbreak in Africa in 2025 to be identified and contained within the space of a few months, attracting few international headlines in the process. That marks a stark contrast to the West Africa Ebola disease outbreak of a decade ago, which killed more than 28,000, touched three continents, and sparked a global public health scare before it was finally stopped. Expertise in infectious disease outbreak response, including in therapeutics and medical countermeasures, has significantly improved over the years, thanks to lessons learned applied from previous outbreaks. In the DRC, for example, a national stockpile of vaccines was vital in quickly protecting communities and frontline workers just days after an outbreak was declared in early September. Much of this progress was made …

Mothers abandon their children in refugee camp

Mothers abandon their children in refugee camp

Published by Sam Flores

Arriving back in Rhino, she carried two twin girls in her arms, Nyelem and Nyal, to whom she had given birth a month before the family fled three years ago. She was too ashamed to say why she stayed so long. Through tears, she said her father had “given” her to her husband when she was 15, as his second wife. She said her father had died last year, and as his eldest child she had gone home to bury him. There are complex reasons why parents leave their children in the camp. Many mothers come alone to begin with, men choosing to stay at home, sometimes fighting in a conflict that has sparked fears of a return to civil war in South Sudan this year. It is not uncommon for them to send for their wives when they want to conceive another child. Nyakim said she is in touch with her mother but has no idea if she will ever return. She gets 27 kilograms to feed her family of 10 for a month. …