CNN News:世卫组织召开会议讨论刚果埃博拉疫情
The Democratic Republic of Congo, a nation in Central Africa, isn't just dealing with conflict between government troops and armed rebel groups. It's dealing with a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus. And those two factors are making it increasingly difficult for international aid workers to stop the virus from spreading. More than half of the people who've caught the virus have died from it. The World's Health Organization, a medical agency of the United Nations, held a meeting yesterday to discuss the crisis.
It says that the latest Ebola outbreak in Congo is a regional concern but at this point it does not fit the description of a public health emergency of international concern. Part of the reason for that, officials have gotten better at fighting Ebola, for one thing there is a vaccine available. It's still experimental. It hasn't been universally approved yet. But researchers with the WHO expect that approval will be given soon.
There are also several drugs available to treat Ebola that haven't all been available in the 10 outbreaks that have happened since 1976. But some health analysts say what's occurring in Congo is still a major outbreak and as the security situation gets worse, so does the ability of health officials to get a handle on it.