Dar in Ebola danger zone - report
What you need to know:
- A new study titled “Mapping the zoonotic niche of Ebola virus disease in Africa” has raised the alarm in Tanzania and other countries across Africa where Ebola has never been reported.
- The researchers, who published the findings in eLife Journal this week, believe the Ebola virus is thriving in wild animals, which are its major reservoir. Tanzania, Burundi and 13 other African countries where no case of Ebola has been reported so far are home to wild animals.
- Kenya, which was earlier marked by the World Health Organisation as a country at risk of an outbreak because it is a major transport hub for all airlines from West Africa to the region, was not mapped in the latest Oxford study. Neither was Rwanda.
Scientists at Oxford University in the United Kingdom have put Tanzania on the list of 15 African countries that are at high risk of an Ebola outbreak.
They have also warned that more than 22 million people across Africa are at risk of infection.
This week, the Tanzanian Government assured the public of its unwavering commitment to keeping Ebola out after standard thermal scanners to detect the virus were installed at four major airports — Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro International Airport, Zanzibar and Mwanza.
This comes after a new study titled Mapping the zoonotic niche of Ebola virus disease in Africa raised the alarm in Tanzania and other countries across Africa where Ebola has never been reported. CLICK HERE to read the full report.
