Reports this week of a major Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), paired with a growing hantavirus outbreak tied to a cruise ship in South America, serve as a stark reminder: the era of emerging infectious diseases is not looming—it is here.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province has already recorded 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths. Preliminary testing indicates the strain is not the Zaire ebolavirus, which is typically the most lethal. The Africa CDC has flagged multiple drivers of transmission, including:
- Population movement
- Political and health insecurity exacerbated by violence
- Gaps in contact tracing
- Healthcare-associated transmission
- Limited infection prevention and control capacity
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