Ebola, the killer virus, has broken out of its jungle lair to attack humanity again. The second worse outbreak in recording history is spreading from the Democratic Republic of Congo crossing the border into Uganda. The first confirmed case of hemorrhagic fever caused by the virus was reported Tuesday in a five year old boy in a Ugandan border town. The battle against the virus has been going on for ten months in the Congo midst a tenuous security situation. Dozens of health workers have been attacked. So far 1390 have reportedly died from the disease; actual numbers are no doubt higher. Some relatives of the sick have resorted to hiding them from first aid workers, hoping to nurse them back to health. Ebola uses its RNA to take over health blood cells and force them to replicate the virus.
The existence of a cross border case is alarming to health officials. The population in the region is highly mobile and cross border trade is common. Health officials have established 80 checkpoints to detect the virus. Health workers have been vaccinated with a experimental vaccine that has shown promise. In the first, 2014-17 outbreak in west Africa, over 11,000 people died. {17.11.17} Aid workers were particularly susceptible since no known immunization was available.
The sick boy traveled with his mother from Uganda to Congo to care for his grandfather who died in a disease zone near the rural Mabalako area, the current epicenter of the disease. A least a dozen of the boy's family members were exhibiting symptoms when they traveled to a Congolese town. They were placed in isolation by Congolese authorities. Six members escaped isolation on Monday and headed back into Uganda. The boy and five members of his family sought treatment at a hospital. The were transferred to a special unit set up for Ebola cases. A rapid response team was dispatched to Kansese to monitor persons who came into contact with the infected.