The Ebola outbreak beats all attempts at isolation as new cases appear in the Congo

The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent protective equipment to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for use by medical staff treating patients infected with Ebola. Making the Congo the fifth African country to suffer from the deadly Ebola outbreak which began in early 2014.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) -  "The ministry of health has declared an outbreak and we are treating it as such," said Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesman.

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The Congo declared that Ebola had been identified in its northern Equateur province on August 24, after two patients there tested positive for the virus.

Health officials believe that Ebola has killed 13 people in the region, including five health workers; 11 are ill and in isolation, and another 80 contacts were being traced.

The current Ebola outbreak-the world's worst-has so far swept through the African nations of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, resulting in 1,427 deaths and 2,615 infections since March, the WHO reported.

One of the two cases in the Congo that tested positive for Ebola was actually positive with the Sudanese strain of the virus, while the other is a mixture of the Sudanese and Zaire stain-which is the most dangerous. The virus ravaging west Africa is the Zaire strain.

There is no known cure for Ebola, but several countries have sent experimental drugs to Africa, including the Canada, the U.S. and Japan.

The maker of Avigan-the Japanese experimental drug-Fujifilm Holdings issued a statement about the use of their drug. "Our country is prepared to provide the yet-to-be approved drug in cooperation with the manufacturer if the WHO requests," said chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga.

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