natureworldnews.com
Ebola Outbreak Caused by a Bat-Linked Virus With No Approved Vaccine Passes 4,000 Deaths in Congo
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now killed more than 4,000 people. Figures released by Congo's health ministry on Thursday, Oct. 1, show 4,018 deaths among 8,300 confirmed cases, making it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, according to CBS News and the Associated Press. What makes this outbreak unusual is the virus behind it. It is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rarer member of the Ebola family for which no vaccine or treatment has been approved. Existing Ebola tools were built for a different species, and doctors are testing them here without proof that they work. The World Health Organization rates the global risk as low, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk to Americans remains low. But the outbreak is a stark example of how a virus thought to live quietly in wildlife can become a regional emergency when it reaches crowded, conflict-hit communities. A Different Ebola Virus With Fewer Tools Ebola disease is caused by several related viruses named for where they were found. The best known is Zaire ebolavirus, which drove the West African epidemic of 2014 to 2016. For Zaire virus, there is a...