The risk of Ebola escaping from the Democratic Republic of Congo is now “very high,” and the outbreak already is nearing Uganda, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. raised its official alert level because of violence by local militias, which has slowed efforts to contain the outbreak, and population movements in eastern Congo, where the latest outbreak erupted in August. But the risk of Ebola spreading globally remains low, the agency said. Since 2000, Uganda has had three Ebola outbreaks, with a total of about 600 cases. Inside Congo, the response to the outbreak has been hampered by fighting and by small numbers of victims leaving or refusing to go to treatment centers, spreading the virus to new areas.

Source: New York Times September 28, 2018 21:33 UTC