The situation of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is deteriorating fast, with nearly 4,000 cases being recorded. This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the country’s history and was officially declared in mid-May; it has already caused the deaths of over 1,700 people and is adding extra strain to the country’s health resources.

WHO (World Health Organization) has called for “intensifying” efforts in medical response in order to control the disease and prevent its spread. The medical team and health care services teams have been sent out to the affected areas, and special clinics for treatment and isolation of patients have been set up in the most affected areas.

Along with this, there have also been intensified efforts at surveillance, testing, and contact tracing to ensure that any new cases are detected early on. Besides all this, research is going on for developing a vaccine to control the epidemic.