Ebola sickens 2 more in DRC; community death noted in Beni
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) tracked two more cases in an ongoing Ebola outbreak, raising the total to 3,424, of which 2,242 were fatal, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) online Ebola dashboard.
The latest daily update from the DRC's Ebola technical committee (CMRE) said one recent case noted on the WHO's dashboard yesterday was in Beni.
The CMRE also said two recent fatalities were in Beni, including one community death. Community deaths, which place outside of a hospital or Ebola treatment center, raise the risk of community spread.
WHO Ebola dashboard
Jan 29 CMRE report
MERS-CoV infects 1 more in Abha, Saudi Arabia
Today Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported one more MERS-CoV case in Abha, the sixth case in an apparent healthcare-related cluster.
The MOH said the patient is a 65-year-old man, whose exposure to MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) is listed as secondary, meaning he probably contracted the virus from another known patient. He is not a healthcare worker, and his camel contact status is not known.
Saudi Arabia has reported 15 cases in January. Over the past few weeks, 5 other cases have been reported in Abha, 3 of them involving healthcare workers, hinting at a hospital-related outbreak.
The WHO said in its latest monthly update that, since 2012, it has received reports of 2,499 MERS-CoV cases, at least 861 of them fatal. The vast majority have been in Saudi Arabia.
Jan 30 MOH report
