Epidemics Tracker

Kampala, Uganda | URN | Researchers have identified genetic changes in the Ebola Bundibugyo virus that could reduce the effectiveness of existing diagnostic tests, prompting the development of new test kits and potentially influencing future treatments and vaccines. The findings come as the Bundibugyo strain continues to infect people and …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | URN | The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has called on the United States to lift travel restrictions imposed on Uganda following its recent Ebola outbreak, saying the country has demonstrated transparency and made significant progress in containing the disease. Africa CDC …

Kinshasa, DRC | URN | Health experts responding to the ongoing Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have revealed that despite the high number of people who continue to get confirmed positive for virus, they are still getting only half of the people they are …

MOSCOW | TASS | A team of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) has returned from a humanitarian mission in Uganda after Ebola virus situation in the country has stabilized, the agency’s press service has told TASS. “At this point, epidemiological situation …

OPINION | EZANA KASSA | By the time a dangerous zoonotic disease reaches a hospital ward, the opportunity to prevent it has already been lost. Health systems around the world have become increasingly effective at detecting infections in people, tracing contacts and responding to outbreaks. But these systems are largely activated …

GENEVA | TASS | The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could cause economic losses for African countries of up to $3.6 billion and threaten more than 300,000 jobs on the continent, according to Damien Mama, UN Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative and Acting Humanitarian Coordinator …

Kampala, Uganda | URN | The Ministry of Health (MOH) said that it was unaware of an outbreak of Marburg viral hemorrhagic fever in the country. Information about a possible outbreak started circulating after the United States Embassy in Kampala released an advisory alerting its citizens that there was a …

KINSHASA, DRC | Xinhua | The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported 1,203 confirmed cases of Ebola, including 321 deaths, since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, according to the latest report released Friday by the country’s public health authorities. According to the report, 148 patients have recovered, …

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia | Xinhua | Saudi Arabia on Thursday suspended travel by its citizens to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and South Sudan, and halted the issuance of all types of visas and the entry of travelers from the three countries as a precaution against Ebola, …

PARIS | Xinhua |  France has identified and isolated five people who may have been exposed to Ebola after sharing a flight with a doctor who tested positive for the virus. French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on Wednesday that the doctor had worked in the Democratic Republic of the …