For the first time in three years, Democratic Republic of Congo is facing an outbreak of the Ebola virus with two cases confirmed by the World Health Organization.
Although two cases have been confirmed, 17 more are suspected and of that group, three people have died.
The last confirmed case of Ebola was in 2014 and did not turn into an epidemic.
The epidemic that ravaged Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea between 2014 and 2016 did not affect Congo, although the River Ebola in Congo is where the disease was first discovered in 1976.
Scientists are in the final stages of a vaccine for the strain of Ebola that was prevalent in the 2014 epidemic, according to the Washington Post. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved it yet, but in an emergency situation it could be approved for use by WHO and others. Scientists reportedly could have 300,000 doses ready, likely in an effort to be more prepared since the 2014 epidemic found scientists largely unprepared to deal with anything of that magnitude.
Since its initial appearance in Congo, the country has dealt with seven separate outbreaks.
