New outbreak of Ebola in DR Congo is "really scary," says Wellcome Trust director

What is the situation up to now?

Since the first case of Ebola in DR Congo last August, nearly 1,400 people have died – about 70% of all infected people.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is already the second deadliest in history

The epidemic is the second largest in the history of the disease, with a sharp rise in the number of new cases in recent weeks.

Only once did the epidemic continue to grow more than eight months after the beginning of the epidemic – it was the epidemic that was raging in West Africa between 2013-2016 and that had made 11,310 deaths.

Efforts to contain the spread have been hampered by militia violence and suspicion of foreign medical badistance.

Nearly 200 health facilities were attacked in DR Congo this year, forcing health workers to suspend or delay immunizations and treatment. In February, the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) suspended its activities in Butembo and Katwa, two cities in the eastern epicenter of the epidemic.

In Uganda, a five-year-old child died of the virus Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Officials said his grandmother and younger brother also had the disease. The boy reportedly crossed the border with his family from DR Congo on Sunday. He was then taken to a Ugandan hospital after presenting with symptoms, including vomiting of blood, officials said.

Seven other cases have been confirmed in the country, and the Ugandan government has reported that 50 people have been in contact with the infected people.

Emergency measures

Analysis by James Gallagher, Health and Science Correspondent, BBC News

Ebola cases appearing in another country are still significant and worrying developments. The key question now is to know where the virus has spread to Uganda?

Has he been confined to the only family that has crossed the DR Congo border or has it spread more widely? This is a time at which Uganda has been preparing for a long time and, hopefully, measures such as preventive vaccination of health personnel will reduce the risk of spread of the Ebola virus.

The epidemic is already the second largest in the history of humanity, and some have predicted that it may take two more years to bring it to an end. The WHO has stated twice that this Ebola outbreak is not yet a global emergency. Its emergency committee will meet again on Friday.

In Uganda, mbad gatherings, including market days and prayers, were canceled. Market days in the city of Kasese attract about 20,000 people in the border area.

The Ugandan Ministry of Health and WHO reported that a rapid response team had been sent to identify people at risk.

The country has already vaccinated about 4,700 health workers against the disease, according to a joint statement by health officials from the WHO and Uganda.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, president of the WHO, announced on Wednesday that he would hold a meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee on June 14th. The group will decide if the epidemic should now be considered a public health emergency.

What is Ebola?

• Ebola is a virus that initially causes sudden fever, severe weakness, muscle aches and sore throat.
• It develops into vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding.
• A person is infected when she has direct contact, through a broken skin, or mouth and nose, with blood, vomit, stool or body fluids. a person with Ebola.
• Patients tend to die from dehydration and organic insufficiency.