Health authorities say at least 131 people have died amid 513 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a further death and at least two confirmed cases in neighboring Uganda. The new figures come just two days after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the disease—which can cause horrific symptoms like bleeding from the eyes—a “public health emergency of international concern.” Among the victims in the Congo is an American doctor, who is understood to have since been flown to Germany to undergo treatment, with another six U.S. medical personnel thought to have been exposed. The strain of Ebola responsible for the current outbreak is the Bundibugyo variant, which carries a fatality rate of 25 to 40 percent—relatively low compared to other major strains like the Zaire and Sudan variants, which can carry mortality rates as high as 90 percent. Unlike those variants, there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, which has alarmed health authorities with the speed at which it has spread throughout the affected region. It is the third outbreak of the variant to be detected, following similar emergencies in Uganda between 2007 and 2008 and in the DRC in 2012.
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