Violence Continues To Hinder Ebola Outbreak Response In DRC, WHO Official Says; Measles Outbreak In Country Kills More Than 5K

CIDRAP News: WHO official highlights Ebola security challenges: ‘We are so close’
“[Friday] Mike Ryan, MD, the World Health Organization (WHO) executive director of health emergencies, spotlighted recent violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its impact on the Ebola outbreak response and issued a dire warning. ‘We just want to express how alarmed we are that a lack of access and security is now preventing us from ending the outbreak,’ Ryan said. ‘At this stage of the outbreak, one case matters, one case can reignite the outbreak, and means the virus can get ahead of us again’…” (Soucheray, 11/22).

The Guardian: Children bear the brunt as the world’s biggest measles epidemic sweeps Congo
“More than 5,000 people, mostly children, have been killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in what is currently the world’s biggest measles epidemic. Measles, which is preventable through vaccination, has spread to all 26 provinces of the country, which is also battling a 15-month-long Ebola epidemic…” (Ratcliffe, 11/22).

Additional coverage of the DRC Ebola outbreak is available from Reuters, Science, U.N. News, and VOA.

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