Ebola outbreak declared emergency of ‘international concern’ as 88 die and rare new strain spreads ‘undetected’

THE World Health Organisation has declared an Ebola outbreak a health emergency of “international concern”.

A rare strain of the virus has killed 88 people as experts warn the disease may have been spreading “undetected” for three weeks.

The Ebola virus has an average fatality rate of 50 per cent, meaning that one in every two people who catch the virus will die of it.

Most of the cases so far have been in Democratic Republic of Congo – but two patients are in intensive care in neighbouring Uganda.

Fears are mounting over the spread of the virus as deaths jumped from 65 to 88 since Friday.

Officials from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have been unable to identify patient zero.

Director general Dr Jean Kaseya said: “So far we don’t know the index case. It means we don’t know the magnitude of this outbreak.”

Most of those infected are from the gold-mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara of Ituri province in the DRC.

But the disease appears to be spreading through the country.

On Saturday, the WHO recorded a case in the country’s capital Kinshasa and in North Kivu – an area which borders both Uganda and Rwanda.

Dr Kaseya said the entire region is “very vulnerable and fragile”.

“The risk is huge to see this outbreak spreading also in other areas,” he added.

“For now, we are still talking about moderate for the continent, but high for the region. When we talk about the region, we talk mostly about Eastern Africa.”

Health officials have been unable to identify the exact number of cases – but it’s estimated more than 300 have been infected.

They believe the first case was recorded in the third week of April.

The WHO said: “There are significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time.

“In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases.”

The disease is highly contagious and spreads to humans from wild animals like fruit bats and monkeys, according to WHO.

It can then jump between humans through body fluids like blood, faeces, semen or vomit or contaminated surfaces.

Symptoms include high fever, aches, fatigue and a sore throat.

Later, patients can experience failed liver and kidney function and internal bleeding.

Between 25 per cent to 90 per cent of people die after being infected by Ebola, depending on the strain.

This latest outbreak has been caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus.

This means that there is as yet no vaccine for this strain of Ebola.

Symptoms usually appear within a week of exposure, though sometimes as early as two days after infection.

Dr Jason Kindrachuk, an associate professor of medical microbiology and infectious diseases at University of Manitoba, told The Telegraph: “This is a very difficult situation for a number of reasons.

“In terms of my concern, I’d say that my current level of concern is quite high.”

This is the 17th outbreak of Ebola in the DRC since the disease was first discovered in 1976.

The African nation has been fiercely fighting to keep track of and prevent further outbreaks but recent cuts to aid have made the region more vulnerable.

Just a decade ago the world experienced the worst outbreak of Ebola virus on record.

Between 2013 and 2016, over 28,000 people were infected and at least 11,000 people died of the highly contagious disease as it ravaged Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and nearby nations.

A small number of cases were also reported in the United States, the UK, Italy and Spain linked to travellers from Africa or health workers returning home after helping with the outbreak.

The epidemic linked to the Ebola virus type was believed to have started in southeastern Guinea when a child “patient zero” came into contact with infected fruit bats, according to researchers.