Doctors Without Borders Worker Tests Positive for Ebola as Congo Outbreak Reaches 8,224 Cases
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 1
Doctors Without Borders Worker Tests Positive for Ebola as Congo Outbreak Reaches 8,224 Cases
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 1
Summary
A Doctors Without Borders staff member working on the Ebola response in Democratic Republic of Congo tested positive and is being evacuated for treatment in the Netherlands.
MSF said the worker had been deployed on the outbreak response, underscoring the infection risk facing frontline health staff in eastern Congo.
Congo's government reported 8,224 cases and 3,982 deaths as of Thursday, making this the country's largest Ebola outbreak on record.
The Bundibugyo-strain outbreak was first identified on May 15 and is seen as likely to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people.
Response efforts have been slowed by aid cuts, insecurity that restricts movement, and community mistrust of medical teams.