Ebola Virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The current Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will soon enter its second year. Beginning on 28 July 2018, the latest WHO estimates put the confirmed death toll at just under 1,500, with over 2,000 confirmed cases as of 24 June. The largest known EVD outbreak occurred in […]
New Developments in the DRC Ebola Virus Outbreak
As the current Ebola virus outbreak in the DRC approaches the one year mark, two new developments may dramatically shape the outbreak and response in the weeks and months to come. On 14 July, the first Ebola virus disease (EVD) case was identified in the city of Goma, the capital and largest city of the […]
Emerging Ebolavirus Therapies
The ongoing Ebolavirus disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is the first to use experimental vaccinations and drug therapies from the start of the outbreak. Ebolavirus infection is now a candidate disease under the World Health Organization’s Monitored Emergency Use of Unregistered and Investigational Interventions (MEURI), and compassionate […]
Continuing challenges in delivering effective aid
It has been just over one year since the first reported case of Ebola in North Kivu province of the DRC, and the outbreak is showing no signs of slowing down. Figures released on the 17thof July by the DRC health ministry put the number of confirmed cases at over 2,400, with 1,600 deaths confirmed from […]
Over 3,000 killed by deadly virus in Democratic Republic of the Congo this year – and it’s not Ebola
Ebola outbreaks, such as the current one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has claimed 2,074 people’s lives, are widely covered in the media. But another virus is ravaging the DRC with minimal publicity. That virus is measles. Although measles has a much lower mortality rate than Ebola (around 2% compared with around 60%), […]
A chaotic start to recovery in the Bahamas
On the 1st of September 2019, the Category 5 hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco islands in the northern Bahamas, with over 24 hours of extremely high sustained winds, with maximum strengths of 185 miles per hour. The effects of Dorian were compounded by the storm stalling over the islands, increasing the duration of the storm damage. […]
Ebola: a tale of two outbreaks
The two most severe outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have occurred within the last five years, in Libera, Sierra Leone and Guinea between 2014 and 2016, and the current outbreak raging in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The outbreaks share some close similarities, but also stark differences in how containment, treatment and […]
Social medicine – Ebola in minds and the media
Ask a member of the public what they know about Ebola and they may describe the disease from what they’ve seen from film, TV and books. They may also recall hearing about the 2014-16 West Africa outbreak, and especially for members of the US public, the case of Thomas Eric Duncan who died in Texas […]
Conflict in the DRC – A Challenge to Effective Aid Delivery
Owing to the tropical nature of disease such as Ebola, developing nations and groups suffering from economic hardships are disproportionately affected. Additionally, countries with histories of Ebola outbreaks such as the DRC, Guinea and Sierra Leone have deep and varied cultural and political backgrounds. Colonial rule imposed upon many African nations and regions by Europeans […]
Gaining Long-Term Community Trust – Learning from Multiple Fields
Malaria is the disease caused by the single celled parasites of the Plasmodium genus, with five species causing illness in humans, the severest caused by P. falciparum. The parasites are spread through mosquito bites, primarily carried by mosquitos in the Culex and Anopheles genera. Together, these two genera of mosquito capable of carrying the malaria parasite are distributed globally in all but […]
