Ebola outbreak in DRC expected to last at least six months



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In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, children are dying of the Ebola virus at an unprecedented rate.

DOSSIER: A health worker is preparing a vaccine at a health center in Conakry during the first clinical trials of the VSV-EBOV vaccine against the Ebola virus. Image: AFP

GENEVA – The Ebola outbreak in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has already killed more than 200 people, is expected to last until mid-2019, reporters Peter Salama told reporters on Tuesday. emergency response officer of the World Health Organization.

"It is very difficult to predict such complex timeframes for an outbreak with so many variables beyond our control, but we certainly expect at least six months to be able to declare this outbreak over," he said.

Children in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are dying from the Ebola virus at an unprecedented rate, largely because of poor hygiene practices in clinics run by traditional healers, announced Sunday the Ministry of Health.

The impact on children has been deeply felt in the city of Beni, which has become the new epicenter of the epidemic.

Of the 120 confirmed Ebola cases in Beni, at least 30 are under the age of 10 and 27 have died, according to data from the Ministry of Health.

According to Jessica Ilunga, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, many children affected by an unrelated malaria epidemic near Beni reportedly contracted the Ebola virus in clinics run by traditional healers who also treated their patients.

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