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WORLD NEWS Friday 25 May 2018

Congo says confirmed Ebola

cases have reached 30; 8 deaths

By SALEH MWANAMILON- 10 million. A wave of pan- is needed to prevent the
GO ic briefly hit Kinshasa on virus' spread, said MSF's
Associated Press Wednesday after rumors emergency coordina-
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — spread that an Ebola case tor, Henry Gray. The WHO
Congo's fight to rein in a had been admitted to the emergencies chief, Dr.
deadly Ebola outbreak Kinshasa General Hospital. Peter Salama, warned
has authorities crossing the Yakouide denied it, saying Wednesday that "the next
border to buy up available no cases had been con- few weeks will really tell if
thermometers, a World firmed in the capital and this outbreak is going to ex-
Health Organization official warning against spreading pand to urban areas or if A health care worker takes the temperatures of passengers at
said, as the health ministry false reports which "could we're going to be able to Ngobila Beach in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Associated Press
on Thursday announced create panic and under- keep it under control.q
that confirmed cases had mine the effectiveness of
reached 30, including eight the response to the Ebola
deaths. outbreak."
The spread of the often le- As of Thursday, Congo's
thal hemorrhagic fever to health ministry reported 30
a provincial capital of 1.2 confirmed Ebola cases, 14
million people has health probable ones and 14 sus-
officials scrambling to mon- pected.
itor for Ebola at busy ports This is Congo's ninth Ebola
in the capital, Kinshasa, outbreak since 1976, when
which is downstream from the disease was first iden-
the infected city of Mban- tified. The virus has twice
daka on the Congo River. made it to Kinshasa but
Mbandaka is one of three was effectively contained.
health zones with con- Some residents of the capi-
firmed Ebola cases, com- tal expressed confidence
plicating efforts to find and that the outbreak would
monitor hundreds of peo- not reach their city from the
ple who have been in con- rural villages or Mbandaka,
tact with those infected. which is an hour's flight from
Two of the zones are rural Kinshasa but several days'
and remote, with few roads journey by barge.
or other infrastructure. "The victim will be far from
In Kinshasa, travelers others so that he can-
streamed off boats at ports not contaminate them.
on the Congo River and The doctors have already
ran a gauntlet of health of- gone down to the site to
ficials watching for signs of see what's going on, so
infection. how is this disease going to
"We want to ensure that happen here in Kinshasa?"
ports and airports are ef- asked Georgette Boluka,
fectively protected," WHO's a market vendor at one of
Congo representative Al- Kinshasa's ports.
larangar Yakouide told Concerns remained
The Associated Press. "I as- among health officials,
sure you, we have already however, after the aid
taken all the thermometers group Medecins Sans Fron-
that are in Kinshasa, practi- tieres on Wednesday said
cally all the thermometers, two infected patients who
and there are even col- fled from an Ebola treat-
leagues who are going on ment center in Mbandaka
the other side to Brazzaville later died.
to buy thermometers." "Forced hospitalization is
The Republic of Congo's not the solution to this epi-
capital is across the river demic" and instead more
from Kinshasa, a city of community engagement