ADDIS ABABA, July 19 -- The African Union (AU) on Friday called for immediate international action on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), which has lingered for almost one year with a high number of casualties.

Speaking to a press conference at the AU Headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa CDC, said 2,438 cases have been confirmed and 1,621 deaths registered as of July 17 this year in the country.

The official however emphasized that being infected with Ebola is a not a death sentence.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), simple treatment interventions at the early stage can significantly improve chances of survival. Meanwhile, an experimental Ebola vaccine known as rVSV-ZEBOV has also proved highly protective against the deadly virus. The vaccine is also now being used in response to the current outbreak in DR Congo.

The latest round of outbreak has been limited mainly to North Kivu and Ituri provinces; and one case was recently reported in Goma, a city of about 2 million people and about 2 km from the nearest city in Rwanda. He stated that 97 contacts of the victim have been identified and 77 of them vaccinated.

On July 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola in the DR Congo as a public health emergency of international concern, the same day when 10 new cases were confirmed in Beni, Butembo, Mandima, Vuhovi, and Mutwanga health zones.

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