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Doctors Without Borders Southern Africa appeals for funds to tackle Ebola outbreak

Ebola has caused thousands of deaths since the first outbreak in 2013. (Image source: EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations/Flickr)

Doctors Without Borders or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Southern Africa has launched an appeal to raise funds to fight the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo

MSF said in a statement that 25 people had died since the outbreak was declared on 8 May, with 35 confirmed cases of Ebola recorded so far.

MSF said it would use funds collected towards care for diagnosed patients and isolation, outreach activities, follow-up with patients, activities to inform people about the risks of Ebola and safe burials.

Most of the Ebola cases are in the country's remote Bikoro health zone, which lacks the healthcare infrastructure to tackle the spread of Ebola.

The WHO last month reported one confirmed case of Ebola in Mbandaka, a city of 1.2mn.

This is a cause for worry because Mbandaka, which is close to the Congo River, which sees significant regional traffic.

The Ebola virus, which has caused several thousand deaths, is a communicable viral disease which causes severe bleeding, organ failure and could lead to death.

The first outbreak of the disease was recorded in Guinea in 2013 and later spread to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, with minor outbreaks in other regions.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), last month, called for aid to the tune of about US$15.1mn to support its operations in tackling the Ebola outbreak in the DRC.