A man receives a vaccine against Ebola outside the Afia Himbi Health Centre in Goma, DR Congo
GENEVA, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A fishmonger vomited at Mpondwe market in Uganda on July 11 before dying of Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo, an incident that could spread the disease in Uganda, the World Health Organization said.
WHO said in a report that about 590 fishmongers at the market could be targeted for vaccination.
The new incidence fuelled concerns that the virus may be spreading beyond Democratic Republic of Congo.
The WHO said a Congolese fisherwoman travelled across the border on July 11 to sell fish at Mpondwe market in western Uganda near the DR Congo border. While in Uganda, she had four vomiting incidents before returning to Congo and dying of Ebola.
Ebola is highly infectious and spread through bodily fluids. The current outbreak, largely confined to Congo apart from three deaths in Uganda last month, has killed 1,676 people – more than two thirds of those who contracted it – over the past year.
The health response relies on tracking down people who may have been exposed to the virus and vaccinating them and anybody they have had contact with.
The WHO report said 19 other fishmongers were listed as possible contacts in the Uganda incident. It said 44 currency exchange workers had volunteered to be vaccinated, while another 590 fishmongers could be targeted for vaccination. — NNN-AGENCIES:
