Almost 100 children have died from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that began in August of 2018. A total of 97 children died from the viral disease. Around 65 of the children were younger than five years of age. In January, the number of cases began to rise. By the end of January, there was a total of 120 new cases. Over 500 people have died from this disease and around 270 people have survived it.
A vaccination program helped to protect thousands of people from Ebola.
Ebola causes fever, internal bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, and sometimes hemorrhaging. Hemorrhaging kills about half of people that are infected with Ebola. In this most recent outbreak, the fatality rate is around 60%.
Ebola is spread from a person to another through contact with skin, blood, or bodily fluids of an infected animal.
This outbreak in Congo is the second deadliest and largest. The largest outbreak occurred in West Africa in 2014 killing over 11,000 people. The recent outbreak in Congo has reported 806 cases.
Treating this outbreak is believed to take over six months to end. There has been difficulties in containing this outbreak due to armed rebels who have been terrorizing the country for years.
There is no cure or vaccinations for Ebola.
The disease gets its name from the Ebola river near a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The disease first occurred in this village in 1976.
