Brazil investigates possible Ebola casespossible Ebola cases as Congo outbreak grows
Brazilian health authorities monitored two suspected Ebola cases in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on May 31 and June 1, after the virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo surpassed 1,000 infections.
Officials later said one patient tested negative, but the checks underscored concern that the epidemic could spread beyond central Africa and test public health systems abroad.
Brazilian health authorities
Brazilian officials treated the cases as precautionary and moved to isolate the patients while testing continued. They said the goal was to rule out Ebola quickly and limit any chance of local spread.
DR Congo and WHO
The Democratic Republic of Congo and the World Health Organization have described the outbreak as difficult to contain because of persistent field challenges. Their focus is on stopping regional spread at the source while health workers track infections and contacts.
- The Ebola virus is named after a river in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Brazil has some of Latin America's largest international airports, making imported infections a major surveillance concern.
- WHO was created in 1948 and now works with nearly every country on epidemic response.
