Ebola, WHO: very high risk in DR Congo, virus spreads rapidly

Kenya has recorded some suspicious cases, with isolations arranged by the health authority.

TheHealth Minister Aden Duale confirmed that they are all negative, but also admitted that 22 of the 47 counties are to be considered 'high risk' for infection and subject to the necessary controls.

The Ebola outbreak detected in DR Congo is the 17th in the country's history since 1976.

The presence of the virus was confirmed in early May in Ituri, a province on the eastern Congolese border with Uganda, but health authorities believe the disease had been widespread for several weeks before the confirmed diagnosis, and the alarm has now been reiterated in the UN.

The Bundibugyo strain is considered more insidious because there is no cure or specific vaccine, although the WHO is evaluating some trials and expects a drug to be developed within six to nine months.

The virus is transmitted by direct bodily fluids from infected patients and corpses, a circumstance that has just prompted the Congolese authorities to prohibit funeral vigils and assemblies with more than 50 people in the north of the country.

"At this point, we still do not have a full picture of the extent of the epidemic," Anne Ancia, the WHO representative in DR Congo, tells the Sole-24 Ore. "There is therefore no such thing as "zero risk"".