[link to www.promedmail.org]

Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

[Mbandaka is a port city of 1.2 million people. "The possibility of the virus spreading is huge," says virologist Yap Boum, who works with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) noting that while Ebola is incubating undetected--which can take several weeks--the victim is already infectious. - Mod LK]



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Date: Tue 15 May 2018
Source: Focus Taiwan [edited]
[link to focustaiwan.tw]


Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on [Tue 15 May 2017] issued a travel warning for the Democratic Republic of Congo, citing a new outbreak of the Ebola virus there.

In its Level 2 travel advisory, the CDC cautioned against travel to the affected areas and urged people to stay away from wildlife if such visits cannot be avoided and to take preventative measures against infection. ...



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[link to www.mediacongo.net]


Gabon, where Ebola has already arisen many times and killed many people in the past, has taken seriously the threat of a possible spread of the epidemic from the DRC. The country has decided to reactivate its Ebola Response Committee to be ready. ...-more



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Date: Tue 15 May 2018
Source: This Day Live [edited]

[link to www.thisdaylive.com (secure)]


The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed Nigerian airlines, especially those operating international and regional destinations, to be vigilant in the screening of passengers before they are allowed to board flights to the country. This is aimed at preventing travellers who have Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) from coming to Nigeria.



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Source: Media Congo [in French, machine trans., edited]

[link to www.mediacongo.net]


The epidemic of Ebola presents risks, according to the WHO representative in the Congo, Dr. Fatoumata Binta Diallo, for some departments of the Congo. -Brazzaville and some countries in the region.

"The epidemic has erupted in Equateur; the localities of Mbandaka and Bikoro are very close to the Likouala department, specifically the city of Liranga. As such, the WHO has declared some countries at very high risk. These are the Congo, the Central African Republic, all those countries that are bordering the DRC and especially this area [Congo]. We are on full alert, we are already in a position to prepare and respond quickly,..."she said.

The Equateur region in the DRC is bordering the department of Likouala. The 2 regions, whose populations exchange daily, are separated by the Ubangi River which leads to the Central African Republic.

[snip]

Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

[Bikoro is in a very remote area of a country that has poor road infrastructure; it is situated on a lake connecting the highly trafficked Congo and Ubangi rivers. From there, people infected with Ebola can hop boats to major cities like the DRC's capital Kinshasa or nearby Brazzaville -- a potential public health nightmare officials are trying to prevent quickly.

Brazzaville, city (commune), capital, and river port of the Republic of the Congo and former capital of French Equatorial Africa, is situated on the north bank of the Congo River below Malebo (Stanley) Pool, across from Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its population is estimated to exceed 1.8 million. Over a third of the population of the Republic of Congo lives in the capital.

[A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: [link to healthmap.org] - Mod.LK]