Ebola Virus Disease

When the COVID-19 outbreak started in March, many Dallas officials said the area's previous experience with the Ebola virus would help them with this new virus. It has now been six years since Dallas health officials confirmed the nation's first case of Ebola. When the COVID-19 outbreak started in March, many Dallas officials said the area's previous experience with the Ebola virus would help them with this new virus. On Sept. 30, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that "Patient 1" was positive for the Ebola virus at  Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and was in "strict isolation." It would later be revealed this patient was Thomas Eric Duncan. Within hours of confirmation, the CDC sent a team to Dallas. According to a 2014 CDC press release , the initial objectives were to "1) Identify potentially exposed contacts of the Ebola patient, 2) initiate monitoring of contacts, 3) review plans for tr...

DRC Says Ebola Outbreak Under Control In Beni, Continues In Katwa, Butembo; Trial Underway To Evaluate Ebola Treatments Feb 20, 2019 CIDRAP News : Ebola under control in Beni amid more cases in other hot spots “In a promising development in the former Ebola hot spot of Beni, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) [Tuesday] announced that a full Ebola incubation period — 21 days — has passed without any new cases. The announcement came as the country’s health ministry reported four new cases from the current epicenters, Katwa and Butembo…” (Schnirring, 2/19). Washington Post : New Ebola treatments are being tested in Congo outbreak area “Amid the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever, the hunt for a lifesaving treatment is on. A clinical trial of patients taking place in Congo is gathering evidence on experimental therapies, to provide a proven option when the deadly virus inevitably emerges again…” (Cunningham, 2/17). Additional coverage of the DRC Ebola outbreak and respon...

In a promising development in the former Ebola hot spot of Beni, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today announced that a full Ebola incubation period—21 days—have passed without any new cases. The announcement came as the country's health ministry reported four new cases from the current epicenters, Katwa and Butembo. Beni news comes with caution about reintroduction risk In its statement today, the health ministry called the situation in Beni a "major breakthrough," following a peak in cases that occurred there between September and November. As Ebola raged in Beni during those months, the city was not only the setting for clashes with armed rebel groups, resulting in community protests that temporarily brought the Ebola outbreak response to a halt. As with some other locations, responders in Beni have also grappled with community resistance to actions such as case finding, contact tracing, and vaccination. The achievement means Ebola activity in Beni is ...