Ebola-positive MSF worker evacuated to Netherlands

A Doctors Without Borders worker who was helping fight the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive for the virus and is being evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment, the medical charity said Thursday.

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said the evacuation was being carried out under strict safety conditions and in coordination with health authorities in DR Congo and the Netherlands. It did not give further details about the worker.

DR Congo has recorded 8,067 Ebola cases, including 3,901 deaths and 2,070 recoveries, since the start of the current crisis, according to the latest official data. That puts the fatality rate at 48.4 percent.

The country officially declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in mid-May. It is the worst Ebola outbreak recorded in DR Congo.

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for that strain, though vaccines and treatments have been under trial.

Much of the latest epidemic has been concentrated in hard-to-reach areas in northern and eastern DR Congo, where instability and armed groups have complicated the response.