Samaritan’s Purse will soon open a treatment center in northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in response to an Ebola virus disease outbreak that has killed more than 300 people. This recent outbreak was declared Aug. 1 and is now the second deadliest in history.

Produced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under a very-high magnification, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a single filamentous Ebola virus particle that had budded from the surface of a VERO cell of the African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line.
Produced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under a very-high magnification, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a single filamentous Ebola virus particle that had budded from the surface of a VERO cell of the African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line.

At the 20-bed treatment center, our medical team will provide expert and compassionate clinical care for patients suffering with the deadly virus, which has a current fatality rate of about 60 percent. Supportive care and other interventions can decrease case mortality.

The center, part of our Emergency Field Hospital, was transported to Africa in November aboard our DC-8 cargo plane. It can be expanded to 60 beds, if needed.

A 21-member disaster assistance response team left for the DRC on Dec. 26 and additional staff have since arrived in country. This deployment supports our local partners and staff in the DRC, as Samaritan’s Purse has operated a country office there for eight years.

Read more at Samaritan’s Purse

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports since the outbreak began in August 2018, there have been 608 cases and 368 deaths in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.


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