No need for travel restrictions in Congo Ebola outbreak, WHO says
An Ebola outbreak in Congo appears to be limited to a remote area, making travel or trade restrictions unnecessary for the time being, the World Health Organization said Saturday.
WHO and Congolese authorities said Friday that one case of Ebola had been confirmed in Bas-Uele province in the northeast.
Nine suspected cases have been reported since April 22. Three of the patients died and six are hospitalized, according to WHO.
"Investigations are ongoing to assess the full extent of the outbreak and therefore high vigilance still needs to be maintained," the UN organization said.
A team of experts is on its way to the area, and health workers will be supplied with protective equipment, WHO said.
Congo has had seven previous outbreaks of Ebola since the virus was discovered in the country in 1976. The last outbreak, in 2014, killed 49 people.
The virus has been most detrimental in West Africa, where it killed more than 11,000 people in 2014-15.
WHO declared Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - the three countries that had been most effected by the epidemic - to be free of Ebola in 2016.
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