The World Health Organization (WHO) will convene its emergency committee today to assess the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo , which has caused 131 deaths and 513 suspected cases to date. "A meeting of the emergency committee is scheduled for this afternoon," a WHO spokesperson told AFP.
On Sunday, the organization's director general declared a public health emergency of international concern , the second-highest alert level. The current strain of Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo virus , for which there are no approved drugs or vaccines.
In the last few hours, news has also come from the US that an American doctor working with a missionary organization in Congo has been infected . This was confirmed by Satish Pillai, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's emergency response division. The doctor began showing symptoms over the weekend and will soon be transferred to the US base in Germany, along with six other Americans who had contact with infected individuals in Congo. All will be quarantined and kept under observation.
Doctor Peter Stafford tested positive for the Bundibugyo variant of the Ebola virus after treating a sick patient at Nyankunde Hospital in the town of Bunia, Congo. His wife, also a doctor, is currently asymptomatic.
(Unioneonline)
