What’s going on in Congo?

Since last year, an estimated 100 children have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo from an Ebola outbreak since the outbreak began in August.  And since this January, the outbreak has been spreading more rapidly; by the end of the month there were 120 new cases of the deadly viral illness identified.

Ebola is a viral disease that infects the cells and kills them by making them explode, therefore causing damage to almost every organ in the body. The fatality rate is about 60%. Its extremely rare, but often times fatal. There are five strains, but only four make the infected individual sick.         

In total, there have been about 806 cases reported in the DRC and 505 fatalities. The Democratic Republic of Congo is at a point where they don’t know what to do anymore. Heather Kerr, Save the Children’s country director in Congo, states that they need to take urgent steps right now or this epidemic could last 6 months to a year.