Fears Ebola outbreak could spread

DAKAR: An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could spread to the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR), where militia violence has forced thousands of people to flee across the border, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday.

Two cases of the virus have been confirmed by the WHO in Congo’s remote northeastern Bas-Uele province since early May. Four people have died so far among the 43 suspected and confirmed cases.

The affected area’s isolation – it is about 1 400km from the capital Kinshasa – has helped contain the spread of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever, experts say.

Yet recent attacks by Christian militias in CAR’s border town of Bangassou have driven about 2 750 people into Bas-Uele, raising the risk that the Ebola outbreak could spread across the border.

“There is a concern about Ebola spreading to CAR after this displacement,” said Michel Yao, WHO representative in the CAR. “The refugees are close to the epicentre of the outbreak,” he said, adding they could become infected and carry the virus back home. Reuters