Congo new strain Ebola

Kay wrote: http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/571132/20141029/ebola-outbreak-congo-travel-advisory-vaccine.htm#.VFGHPZtZeIU

The Australian government recommends for Australians to reconsider their need for travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, because of a new string of Ebola virus spreading in the region. The said string of Ebola is different from the deadly virus that is widely spread in West African countries. For those Australians already in DRC, they should be aware that many African countries had banned travellers coming from heavily infected areas.

A man wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) as a Halloween costume, stands in front of the building where Dr. Craig Spencer lives in New York October 25, 2014. Spencer, 33, who treated Ebola patients in West Africa, was moved with elaborate precautions from his Harlem apartment to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan with a fever and tested positive for Ebola on Thursday, sparking concern about the spread of the disease in the country's most populous city.

According to the World Health Organisation, or WHO, the virus in DRC was identified to have come from Zaire species, a string that could have evolved from the 1995 Ebola outbreak in Kikwit, DRC. The current string had come from a remote Boende district, Equateur province in the northwestern part of the DRC.

The string is inherent in the DRC. "The outbreak in DRC is a distinct and independent event, with no relationship to the outbreak in west Africa... the virus in the Boende district is definitely not derived from the variant currently circulating in west Africa," WHO said in a statement.

The government had also issued a "do not travel" advisory to the eastern and northeastern regions of the DRC, North and South Kivu Provinces and the Ituri district of Orientale Province due to high security threat and an ongoing armes conflict. Virunga National Park, a favourite among tourists, is located in this area. However, an intermittent armed conflict involving rebel group and the Congolese Army made the tourist spot dangerous.

Additionally, the government warned Kinshasa's main airport, Ndjili International Airport, and ferry terminal can close at short notice. Australia does not have an embassy or consulate in the DRC. Australians who wished to leave the country may seek help from the Canadian Embassy located in Kinshasa.

Meanwhile, WHO approved trials for Ebola vaccines formulated by Swissmedic. The trials will be made at the Lausanne University Hospital, or CHUV. WHO said the decision was made in its aim to release safe and effective Ebola treatment as soon as possible. The trial will be conducted on about 120 individuals in Lausanne. WHO said this is the latest in a series of trials that are happening in Mali, the United Kingdom and the United States.