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Workers with the World Health Organization prepare to remove the bodies of people suspected to have died of Ebola in the village of Pendebu, north of Kenema, Sierra Leone. ( Photo: T. Jasarevic/ WHO)
Officials Warn of Possible Second Outbreak as Ebola Confirmed in Fifth Country
Japan awaits green light to supply untested drug as report from the World Health Organization highlights factors that have led to underestimated epidemic
Aug 25, 2014
Scientists are racing to confirm if an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which officials confirmed on Sunday, is a different strain than that which has killed nearly 1,500 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, potentially raising the specter of the crisis to two deadly outbreaks.
At a Sunday press briefing, DRC Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi declared an "Ebola epidemic in the region of Djera, in the territory of Boende in the province of Equateur," Reutersreports, saying that two cases had tested positive for the deadly virus.
Numbi said that one case had tested positive for the Sudanese strain of the disease while the second was a mixture between a Sudanese strain and the more lethal Zaire strain, which has been linked to the outbreak in West Africa.
Following Numbi's announcement, officials with the World Health Organization said that the results had yet to be verified by the international health body and that results from a second lab are expected as early as Monday. However, Gregory Hartl, head of Public Relations, did say that the confirmation of a second strain would mean there is a second epidemic of the deadly disease.
\u201c.@TruthxStar @WHO Need to wait for confirmatory tests but yes there could be 2 different strains here,meaning two different events/outbreaks\u201d— World Health Organization (WHO) (@World Health Organization (WHO)) 1408903313
The Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 in the very same regional forest area of DRC as the current reported outbreak.
According to an update by the World Health Organization, as of Friday there have been 2,615 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,427 deaths.
On Friday, WHO issued a statement explaining how the fast-moving outbreak has been significantly underestimated, particularly in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The statement cites as contributing factors both fear of western health care workers and the stigma of being placed in isolation at one of the quarantine centers, which recent reports described as having limited access to food and health care and resembling the "plague villages" of medieval Europe.
WHO issued an additional statement on Monday calling attention to the "unprecedented" number of health care workers who have been infected with the virus, citing a lack of protective equipment and early misdiagnosis at health treatment centers.
Japan is reportedly waiting for WHO approval to provide thousands of doses of the anti-influenza drug favipiravir, known as Avigan, for the possible treatment of Ebola.
Though Avigan has not been proven to be effective against Ebola, Takao Aoki, spokesman for Fujifilm Holdings Corp which developed the drug, said Ebola and influenza viruses are the same general type, and a similar response can theoretically be expected from Ebola.
According to Aoki, the company has enough stock of favipiravir for more than 20,000 patients.
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Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Scientists are racing to confirm if an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which officials confirmed on Sunday, is a different strain than that which has killed nearly 1,500 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, potentially raising the specter of the crisis to two deadly outbreaks.
At a Sunday press briefing, DRC Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi declared an "Ebola epidemic in the region of Djera, in the territory of Boende in the province of Equateur," Reutersreports, saying that two cases had tested positive for the deadly virus.
Numbi said that one case had tested positive for the Sudanese strain of the disease while the second was a mixture between a Sudanese strain and the more lethal Zaire strain, which has been linked to the outbreak in West Africa.
Following Numbi's announcement, officials with the World Health Organization said that the results had yet to be verified by the international health body and that results from a second lab are expected as early as Monday. However, Gregory Hartl, head of Public Relations, did say that the confirmation of a second strain would mean there is a second epidemic of the deadly disease.
\u201c.@TruthxStar @WHO Need to wait for confirmatory tests but yes there could be 2 different strains here,meaning two different events/outbreaks\u201d— World Health Organization (WHO) (@World Health Organization (WHO)) 1408903313
The Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 in the very same regional forest area of DRC as the current reported outbreak.
According to an update by the World Health Organization, as of Friday there have been 2,615 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,427 deaths.
On Friday, WHO issued a statement explaining how the fast-moving outbreak has been significantly underestimated, particularly in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The statement cites as contributing factors both fear of western health care workers and the stigma of being placed in isolation at one of the quarantine centers, which recent reports described as having limited access to food and health care and resembling the "plague villages" of medieval Europe.
WHO issued an additional statement on Monday calling attention to the "unprecedented" number of health care workers who have been infected with the virus, citing a lack of protective equipment and early misdiagnosis at health treatment centers.
Japan is reportedly waiting for WHO approval to provide thousands of doses of the anti-influenza drug favipiravir, known as Avigan, for the possible treatment of Ebola.
Though Avigan has not been proven to be effective against Ebola, Takao Aoki, spokesman for Fujifilm Holdings Corp which developed the drug, said Ebola and influenza viruses are the same general type, and a similar response can theoretically be expected from Ebola.
According to Aoki, the company has enough stock of favipiravir for more than 20,000 patients.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Scientists are racing to confirm if an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which officials confirmed on Sunday, is a different strain than that which has killed nearly 1,500 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, potentially raising the specter of the crisis to two deadly outbreaks.
At a Sunday press briefing, DRC Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi declared an "Ebola epidemic in the region of Djera, in the territory of Boende in the province of Equateur," Reutersreports, saying that two cases had tested positive for the deadly virus.
Numbi said that one case had tested positive for the Sudanese strain of the disease while the second was a mixture between a Sudanese strain and the more lethal Zaire strain, which has been linked to the outbreak in West Africa.
Following Numbi's announcement, officials with the World Health Organization said that the results had yet to be verified by the international health body and that results from a second lab are expected as early as Monday. However, Gregory Hartl, head of Public Relations, did say that the confirmation of a second strain would mean there is a second epidemic of the deadly disease.
\u201c.@TruthxStar @WHO Need to wait for confirmatory tests but yes there could be 2 different strains here,meaning two different events/outbreaks\u201d— World Health Organization (WHO) (@World Health Organization (WHO)) 1408903313
The Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 in the very same regional forest area of DRC as the current reported outbreak.
According to an update by the World Health Organization, as of Friday there have been 2,615 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,427 deaths.
On Friday, WHO issued a statement explaining how the fast-moving outbreak has been significantly underestimated, particularly in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The statement cites as contributing factors both fear of western health care workers and the stigma of being placed in isolation at one of the quarantine centers, which recent reports described as having limited access to food and health care and resembling the "plague villages" of medieval Europe.
WHO issued an additional statement on Monday calling attention to the "unprecedented" number of health care workers who have been infected with the virus, citing a lack of protective equipment and early misdiagnosis at health treatment centers.
Japan is reportedly waiting for WHO approval to provide thousands of doses of the anti-influenza drug favipiravir, known as Avigan, for the possible treatment of Ebola.
Though Avigan has not been proven to be effective against Ebola, Takao Aoki, spokesman for Fujifilm Holdings Corp which developed the drug, said Ebola and influenza viruses are the same general type, and a similar response can theoretically be expected from Ebola.
According to Aoki, the company has enough stock of favipiravir for more than 20,000 patients.
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Retaliatory tariffs from the world's second-largest economy mark the latest step in a global trade war launched by the Trump White House, which—despite warnings of disastrous impacts for working-class U.S. households and the broader economy—plowed ahead this week with a 10% universal tariff on imports and larger tariffs on a number of trading partners, including China.
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A new analysis indicates Republicans' plan to extend soon-to-expire provisions of their party's 2017 tax law, as well as their push to tack on additional tax breaks largely benefitting the rich and big corporations, would cost $7 trillion over the next decade, a figure that a group of congressional Democrats called "staggering."
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CMS is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, now led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who, like Oz, came under fire for his record of dubious claims during the confirmation process. Weissman said that "Dr. Oz is joining a team of snake oil salesmen and anti-science flunkies that have already shown disdain for the American people and their health. This is yet another dark day for healthcare in America under Trump."
In the middle of Trump's tariff disaster, the Senate is voting to confirm quack grifter Dr. Oz to lead the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services.
[image or embed]
— Jen Bendery (@jbendery.bsky.social) April 3, 2025 at 12:29 PM
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