In May 2018, a child was washing hands at a church in the southern city of Mbandaka, amid the spread of Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Reuters Yonhap News
The epidemic of Ebola virus in Africa strengthens immigration and quarantine.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on the 16th that as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea have declared epidemic outbreaks of the Ebola virus this month, they will form a countermeasure group and strengthen quarantine for those entering and leaving the country.
In the Northeastern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, four confirmed patients with Ebola virus occurred on the 7th and 15th, and two of them died. In Nzerekore Province, southeastern Guinea, all three confirmed patients died, and four suspected patients came out. The two countries are the countries where the Ebola virus disease was outbreaked in 2020 and 2013-16 respectively. In particular, the Democratic Republic of the Congo began to spread the Ebola virus again three months after the outbreak was declared over last November.
The Agency for Disease Control and Prevention designates the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea as quarantine management areas, and strengthens the guidelines for preventive measures for outbound travelers. In addition, intensive quarantine is carried out on immigrants from these countries. When visiting the two countries, the Agency for Disease Control urged them to avoid contact with wild animals such as bats, monkeys, gorillas, chimpanzees, and antelopes, and refrain from visiting local medical institutions.
When infected with Ebola virus, symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding appear after an incubation period of 2 to 21 days. It is transmitted by eating infected animals, by contact with animal body fluids, or by contact with patients or deceased. In Korea, it is classified as a first-class infectious disease, and the fatality rate is high at 25-90%. Currently, there are 100 Ebola virus treatment drugs in stock in Korea.
Lim So-hyung reporter [email protected]
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