'I've never seen anything like this' -- A U.S. doctor treats Ebola's youngest victims
A severe Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is overwhelming local medical facilities, with pediatric patients being hit particularly hard. Doctors are struggling to provide care due to the lack of vaccines and effective antiviral treatments.
Why it matters
The high mortality rate among children in this outbreak underscores the urgent need for medical resources and international health intervention in the region.
An Ebola treatment unit in the city of Butembo, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has 30 beds. Tonight, they're all full.
"I don't know how this is going to slow down," says Dr. Rupa Narra, a U.S. pediatrician who arrived in August to work for Doctors Without Borders. "It's the most devastating thing I've ever seen in my life."
With at least 6,800 confirmed cases and more than 3,310 deaths since May, the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is on track to be the worst on record. Last week, Narra's unit lost eight patients — all under the age of 5.
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