Ebola outbreak prompts call for coordinated regional action

The Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus has spread across several African countries, prompting the World Health Organization’s Africa director to call for coordinated regional action. Mohamed Yakub Janabi said the outbreak had become a regional public health concern requiring greater vigilance and cooperation among health systems. Nigeria has confirmed a case described by Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya as imported. The patient is a woman who developed symptoms on October 7 after returning from Uganda, according to a report on the case. Uganda has denied that she contracted the virus there, and the WHO said it had not been informed whether she had traveled to Congo. The place of infection has not been established in the reported accounts. Kenya has reported nine cases, including one death. Kenyan health official Patrick Amoth said eight patients were receiving treatment and more than 120 people were in quarantine. He said Kenya had requested 10,000 vaccine doses from the WHO and Africa CDC to protect frontline health workers. The virus has no approved vaccine or treatment, according to the reporting. In the Democratic...