Ebola Outbreak Reaches Senegal

Ebola Outbreak Reaches Senegal

As health organizations around the world were hoping that the Ebola outbreak was past its peak and that the deadly disease will soon be under control, new cases were reported in Senegal, a country with 13 million citizens.

The expansion of the outbreak to Senegal is worrying as the country, particularly its capital city Dakar is a major travel hub, with millions of people passing through each year. The news confirms dire predictions by the World Health Organization that said the outbreak could still infect up to 20,000 people before it is under control.

Nearly 40 percent of all infections happened in the last three weeks said a WHO report. To add to the already difficult situation, it appears that the virus has started to mutate, making diagnosis and treatment even more difficult. With a death toll that recently passed 1,500 this Ebola outbreak was the most deadly in recorded history, generating more deaths than all other Ebola outbreaks put together.

The United Sates government along with scientists from the British drug making corporation GlaxoSmithKline said that human trials for an experimental vaccine will start next week. The aim is to get a working vaccine as soon as possible to the most affected areas in West Africa.

In the meantime, CDC Director Tom Frieden said that the situation in Liberia, the worst hit country in the region, is worse than it appears, with the risk for further sprawl to neighboring countries being as high as ever.

Posted by George Daniels on Monday September 01 2014, 3:45 AM EDT. Ref: WP. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0