International Efforts Needed To Stop Spread of Ebola In DRC

Financial Times: The world must wake up to the threat of latest Ebola outbreak
David Pilling, Africa editor at the Financial Times

“…This is the tenth recorded [Ebola] outbreak in Congo. Congolese authorities have a strong record in stopping its spread. But conditions this time are altogether more difficult. Eastern Congo is prey to dozens of armed militias … Health centers run by Médecins Sans Frontières have come under armed attack, endangering the lives of health professionals and scattering infected patients back out into the community. … People’s lack of trust is the most serious issue. … Attempts to gain trust through community outreach have had mixed results. … Ebola circulates in bats. In the world’s poorest communities, the virus occasionally jumps over into humans. That is a problem not only for those directly affected, but for an interconnected world in which viruses can ricochet with the speed of a commercial aircraft. Heroic Congolese and foreign health workers are battling Ebola in the most hostile conditions imaginable. It is in everyone’s interest that they succeed” (3/28).

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