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Congo reopens Bunia airport as Ebola outbreak shows early signs of slowing

The airport in Bunia - the capital of Ituri province - resumed operations immediately after health authorities determined that screening and surveillance measures were sufficient to manage travel risk

Congo's Ebola outbreak near 300 as health workers celebrate recoveries

At least 282 cases of Ebola disease have been confirmed in Congo's growing outbreak, the central African nation says, as more joyful stories from recovered medical workers emerge. One nurse spoke of his "indescribable joy" at beating the illness. The outbreak remains focused in eastern Ituri province, where 264 cases have been confirmed, the health ministry said. Congo has reported more than 1,000 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo virus, the species of Ebola that was confirmed weeks after the outbreak quietly began. There is no approved medicine to treat it, or vaccine. The disease outbreak has killed 42 people in Congo and one person in neighbouring Uganda, according to health authorities in both countries. The outbreak has spread to 22 health zones across three eastern provinces in Congo, government data shows, even as the World Health Organization has sought to highlight signs of progress, like new deliveries of supplies to deeply under-resourced health centres. Congo's health .

Congo seeks experimental Ebola antibody as outbreak crosses 1,000 cases

Eastern Congo faces a "catastrophic collision" of war and disease as fighting and displacement accelerate the spread of Ebola and undermine efforts to isolate patients and trace contacts

Congo Ebola outbreak is outpacing responders as patients flee clinics: WHO

Congo has reported 101 confirmed Ebola infections, 930 suspected cases and 221 suspected deaths, according to health ministry data released late Monday

WHO declares Ebola outbreak 'health emergency' of international concern

India advises citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan amid evolving Ebola situation, following WHO recommendations

Ebola outbreak in Congo spreading rapidly amid treatment gaps, warns WHO

The agency upgraded its risk assessment to 'very high' in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 deaths from the disease

WHO chief Adhanom says Ebola outbreak in Congo is 'spreading rapidly'

The head of the World Health Organisation says the Ebola outbreak in Congo is "spreading rapidly" and now poses a "very high" risk at the national level. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom said Friday the UN health agency was revising upward to "very high" its assessment of the risk within Congo, which had previously been deemed as high. The risk remains high for regional spread and low at global levels, he told reporters. The WHO chief noted that 82 cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with seven confirmed deaths, "but we know the epidemic in DRC is much larger." He said there are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. The situation in neighbouring Uganda is "stable" with two cases confirmed in people who had travelled from Congo, with one death.

Ebola spreads silently through Congo's mines and conflict-hit regions

Population growth, climate change and rising human contact with wildlife are fuelling spread of animal-borne diseases like Ebola, though improved detection methods may explain some increase in cases

India-Africa Summit postponed as Ebola outbreak raises health concerns

India and the African Union defer the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit amid Ebola concerns, while India issues health advisories for travellers from affected nations

Ebola outbreak likely started months ago, spread undetected in Africa: WHO

First confirmed death took place April 20, and experts used social media posts to reconstruct the recent progress of the virus after the super-spreader event on May 5

Asian countries tighten precautions against Ebola after WHO declaration

Several govts have expanded screening and reporting requirements for travelers arriving from affected countries, though officials say no cases have been publicly confirmed in Asia

WHO-Imperial College analysis suggests Congo Ebola outbreak undercounted

The analysis, based on case data collected through Saturday, found the outbreak was likely substantially larger than officially detected

World is more vulnerable to pandemics despite Covid-19 lessons, warns WHO

A new global preparedness report warns that future outbreaks could become more disruptive as trust declines and pandemic funding slips worldwide

Ebola outbreak in Congo kills 131, over 500 suspected cases reported

At least 131 deaths and over 500 suspected cases have been reported in the ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, the Congolese health ministry said Tuesday as details emerged about the government's delayed response. Samuel Roger Kamba, the minister of public health, said: "513 suspected cases and 131 deaths have been recorded in the affected areas." "These are suspected deaths, and investigations are underway to determine which ones are actually linked to the disease." The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Sunday declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Health authorities say the current outbreak, first confirmed on Friday, is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant of the Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time that the Bundibugyo virus has been detected. Cases have now been confirmed in Bunia, North Kivu's

Centre steps up Ebola preparedness after WHO alert in Central Africa

The Health Ministry has strengthened surveillance and preparedness measures after the WHO flagged an Ebola outbreak in parts of Congo and Uganda

Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship expected to arrive in Netherlands today

A cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak is scheduled to arrive in the port city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands on Monday morning. The MV Hondius has spent the past six days sailing from the Canary Islands, where the remaining passengers were escorted off the vessel by personnel in full-body protective gear and boarded flights to more than 20 countries to enter quarantine. The outbreak on the ship has reached 11 cases, nine of which have been confirmed, according to the World Health Organisation. Three passengers have died, including a Dutch couple who health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus while visiting South America. The vessel has made the journey from Tenerife up the coast of Africa and Europe with 25 crew members and two medical personnel. According to the ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions, no one on board is experiencing any symptoms. Crew members who are unable to return home will be quarantined in the Netherlands, the Dutch health ministry

Doctor who aided hantavirus patients on cruise ship cleared from isolation

An oncologist travelling on the cruise ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak has been cleared to leave a special biocontainment unit in Nebraska, where he was the lone American placed in isolation after he helped care for fellow passengers who became sick on board. Dr. Stephen Kornfeld of Bend, Oregon, was among more than 120 passengers and crew evacuated from the ship and flown to different countries to enter quarantine. Kornfeld was brought to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha with 15 other Americans, but he was the only one taken to an isolated biocontainment unit after a nasal swab he took on the ship produced inconclusive results about whether he had the virus. On Wednesday, the hospital announced that Kornfeld will now join the 15 other Americans who were taken for monitoring at the National Quarantine Unit, instead of the biocontainment unit, according to hospital spokesperson Kayla Thomas. Kornfeld appeared on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" on a video

2 French, 1 US evacuee test positive for hantavirus after cruise outbreak

Passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship began flying home aboard military and government planes after the vessel anchored in the Canary Islands, with one American testing positive and a French traveller developing symptoms for the pathogen aboard their separate aircraft. One the 17 American passengers evacuated from the MV Hondius tested positive for the hantavirus but is not showing any symptoms, US health officials said late Sunday. Earlier, one of the five French passengers developed symptoms on their flight home, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a statement, and all were put into strict isolation with plans to be tested. Passengers were evacuated off the MV Hondius following its arrival in Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago off the West African coast. Earlier, officials from the Spanish Health Ministry, the World Health Organisation and the cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions had said none of the more than 140 people who wer

WHO chief reassures Tenerife as hantavirus cruise ship nears island

The head of the World Health Organisation sought Saturday to reassure worried residents of the Spanish island of Tenerife that they are not in danger from the anticipated arrival there of a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, issuing a direct message to them. The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, with more than 140 passengers and crew on board, is headed to Spain's Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa, and is expected to arrive at the island of Tenerife in the early hours of Sunday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with Spain's Health Minister Monica Garcia and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, are to head to the island Saturday to coordinate the disembarkation. of passengers and some crew. Some residents on the island have said they do not want the ship to dock there, fearing the transmission of the virus. On board the cruise ship, some of the Spanish passengers have voiced concern about how they will be received once on land. "I know you are worried.

Health Ministry activates precautionary surveillance amid hantavirus

The Health Ministry has stepped up surveillance after probable hantavirus cases were reported onboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, with two Indians under observation