Since the current Ebola outbreak emerged in mid-May there have been more than 650 confirmed cases of the disease, with 129 confirmed deaths, in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda. This is already one of the largest Ebola outbreaks ever recorded and only the third known outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain.

Healthcare workers are at high risk of contracting the disease and must be protected, say Aula Abbara and Michael Adeyemi Lawal