World A new Ebola outbreak is confirmed in a remote Congo province, with 65 deaths recorded

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Africa’s top public health body on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far.

Neighboring Uganda later confirmed one death in an Ebola case it said was imported from Congo.

The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. The agency said 65 deaths have been attributed to the outbreak and that four of those have so far been confirmed in a laboratory.

Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.

At least 6 Americans in Congo were exposed to Ebola virus, sources say

Ebola outbreak declared a global health emergency by WHO 02:14

At least six Americans were exposed to Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sources with international aid organizations told CBS News, although it was unclear if any had been infected.

Three of the Americans faced a high-risk contact or exposure, the sources said, and one was symptomatic. It wasn't immediately clear whether the Americans are still in Congo. The health news organization STAT was first to report on the exposures.

The World Health Organization this week declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a "public health emergency of international concern." At least 80 suspected deaths have been reported, the WHO said Saturday.

Why this Ebola outbreak will be so difficult to contain

Public health authorities and experts warn that the world is confronting a dangerous convergence of factors that could make the latest Ebola outbreak extraordinarily difficult to contain: a fast-moving epidemic in a conflict-ridden region, involving a strain with no approved vaccine, at a moment when the global health infrastructure built after past Ebola crises has been weakened by funding cuts and political upheaval.

The concern comes as the United States on Monday tightened entry rules for some travelers and disclosed that an American infected with the deadly disease was flown to Germany for treatment.

The outbreak is suspected to be linked to 130 deaths and more than 500 infections in the Democratic Republic of Congo as of Tuesday, with two confirmed cases in Uganda. The World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency in those two nations over the weekend.

“I did not do this lightly,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, speaking Tuesday before the World Health Assembly in Geneva. He added that he is “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic” and would convene the WHO’s emergency committee for recommendations.

American doctor with Ebola flown to Germany as wife and four children are monitored

Leaders of the Christian missionary group Serge, which Dr. Peter Stafford works for, said he unknowingly operated on a patient with Ebola before the outbreak was detected.

By the time the American surgeon who contracted Ebola in Congo was flown to Germany for treatment Tuesday, he was barely able to stand on his own, according to two leaders of the Christian missionary group where he worked.

Dr. Scott Myhre, the East and Central Africa area director for the group, called Serge, described the scene as Dr. Peter Stafford departed.

“There were people in full — we call it PPE — the personal protective equipment, and they’re completely covered, and he’s hanging on them barely strong enough to walk,” Myhre said. “He looked really tired and really sick.”

Stafford, 39, worked at Nyankunde Hospital, which is in Congo’s Ituri province, where the Ebola outbreak is centered. Days before the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the outbreak, Stafford operated on a 33-year-old patient with severe abdominal pain, Myhre said. At the time, doctors thought the patient had a gallbladder infection.

Air France flight to U.S. diverted to Montreal over concerns of possible Ebola virus exposure on board

An Air France flight bound for Detroit was diverted to Montreal on Wednesday afternoon due to concerns that one of the passengers on board may have been exposed to the Ebola virus.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the passenger was allowed to board Air France flight 378 in Paris “in error” after recently being in East Africa, which is currently dealing with a rare type of Ebola virus.

“Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane,” read a statement sent to CityNews. “CBP took decisive action and prohibited the flight carrying that traveler from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and instead, diverted to Montreal, Canada.”

Officials would not say if the passenger was showing any signs or symptoms of the virus.

Residents burn an Ebola treatment center in Congo as anger grows over the outbreak

People set fire to an Ebola treatment center in a town at the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo on Thursday after being stopped from retrieving the body of a local man, a witness and a senior police officer said, as fear and anger grow over a health crisis that doctors are struggling to contain.

The arson attack in Rwampara reflects the challenges of health workers trying to curb a rare Ebola virus by using stringent measures that might clash with local customs, such as burial rites. The disease has been spreading for weeks in a region lacking in adequate health facilities and where many people are on the move to escape armed conflicts.

The bodies of those who die from Ebola can be highly contagious and lead to further spread when people prepare bodies for burial and gather for funerals. The dangerous work of burying suspected victims is being managed wherever possible by authorities, which can be met by protests from victims’ families and friends.

“The police intervened to try to calm the situation, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful,” said Alexis Burata, a local student who said he was in the area. “The young people ended up setting fire to the center. That’s the situation.”