Disease

Ebola – DR Congo

Swift response by health officials appears to have “largely contained” an Ebola outbreak that emerged earlier this year in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A pilot program of administering a new Ebola vaccine to everyone who came in contact with known patients seems to have halted the spread, officials say. But as many as 28 people may have been killed by the disease since it re-emerged in early April. However, the announcement of “containment” was made with cautious optimism.

Rift Valley fever – Kenya

The Kenyan Department of Veterinary Services has shut down abattoirs and quarantined all livestock in the Tana Delta area following a new Rift Valley Fever outbreak that has affected at least 20 goats. At least 13 people have died and 234 cases of RVF have been confirmed in north-eastern counties of Kenya since last week. The outbreak was confirmed through comprehensive lab tests.

Rinderpest in Bulgaria

Bulgaria on Thursday reported the first outbreak in the European Union of the highly contagious Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), on livestock farms in the village of Voden in southeastern Bulgaria, close to the border with Turkey.

The disease, also known as ovine rinderpest or sheep and goat plague, can have a severe impact on livestock, killing between 30 to 70 percent of the infected animals. Once introduced, the virus can infect up to 90 percent of an animal heard. The virus does not infect humans.