The Ebola virus outbreak that began in August in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now the second-largest in history, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The country has seen 426 probable and confirmed cases, according to the latest report from the Congolese health ministry. The virus has killed at least 198 people, and 36 reported cases have affected children younger than 2. The 2014 West Africa epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people over two years is the worst outbreak on record.
A Congolese doctor and an Iraqi woman received the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their work against sexual violence and war crimes. Both are the first from their countries to receive the award. Dr. Denis Mukwege, 63, founded a hospital in the eastern area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he has treated thousands of women, many of whom were victims of rape in the conflict-ridden region. He temporarily left the country after armed men tried to kill him in 2012.
Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo began a new vaccination campaign Monday in a bid to stop the spread of the latest Ebola outbreak. Doctors have 7,500 doses of an experimental serum known as RVSV ZEBOV and plan to vaccinate anyone who has come into contact with patients infected with the deadly virus. At least 27 people have died in Congo’s Equator province and officials believe nearly 50 more have contracted Ebola.
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