Ebola is spreading rapidly in Africa, with 11 countries at high risk.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is spreading rapidly, with more than 200 deaths suspected to be related to the disease.

The Ebola outbreak is spreading rapidly in Africa, with 11 countries at high risk. Photo: BBC.

Speaking at a ministerial-level online meeting on May 25, the Director-General of the Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, said that since the Democratic Republic of Congo announced its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15, a total of 906 suspected cases and 204 deaths suspected to be due to Ebola have been recorded. According to Kaseya, 106 cases have now been confirmed by testing in the two affected countries, including Uganda with 5 cases, all linked to individuals who entered the country from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr. Kaseya emphasized: “The numbers are changing every day. The situation is now extremely serious. We cannot allow more Africans to die while the epidemic is still at its peak.”

The head of the Africa CDC also warned of the risk of the disease spreading to other countries in the region. In addition to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, 11 more African countries are now assessed as high-risk, including South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Zambia, the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, the Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Somalia.

According to the Africa CDC, the response is facing numerous major challenges, including a detection gap of up to four weeks before official confirmation, shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies, weak healthcare systems, complex population movements, security instability, as well as misinformation and a lack of trust within the community.

The WHO has upgraded its risk assessment for the disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo from "high" to "very high". Photo: France24.

On the same day, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the agency had raised the risk assessment of the disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo from “high” to “very high” at the national level due to the rapid spread of Ebola.

Ebola is a dangerous infectious disease with a high mortality rate, which can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea, body aches, and severe bleeding in severe cases. The WHO states that the mortality rate of the disease depends on the specific strain of the Ebola virus.

Ngoc Lien

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dich-ebola-lay-lan-nhanh-tai-chau-phi-11-nuoc-nguy-co-cao-288888.htm