DR Congo cancel World Cup training camp over Ebola outbreak

The outbreak, caused by a rare Ebola species, is thought to have caused 139 deaths so far. DR Congo cancels World Cup training camp over Ebola outbreak Why does DR Congo keep facing disease outbreaks? Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. DR Congo have qualified for the Fifa World Cup for the first time since 1974 Congolese football player Cédric Bakambu celebrates with the national flag on a football pitch The Democratic Republic of Congo has cancelled its pre-World Cup training camp in the capital, Kinshasa, because of an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country. Preparations have been moved to Belgium amid the upsurge, which is thought to have killed more than 130 people. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern", but said it was not at pandemic level. Jerry Kalemo, a spokesperson for the national football team, told international media that pre-tournament games in Europe would go ahead as planned, as the squad gears up for their first World Cup since 1974. DR Congo are due to play friendly matches against Denmark, on 3 June in Belgium, and Chile, on 9 June in Spain, ahead of the World Cup finals. They play their first match of the tournament in the US city of Houston on 17 June against Portugal. A spokesperson for the DR Congo team told the Reuters news agency that the squad's training camp had been cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed by the US, who are hosting the World Cup this summer, along with Mexico and Canada. The US' public health agency has banned entry from non-Americans who have been in the DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days, in response to the Ebola outbreak. A medic checks the temperature of a woman, using a contactless infrared thermometer. Only the arm of the medic, who is wearing white, is shown. The woman having her temperature checked has her hair in braids. She is wearing a bright blue top with a pattern and is standing next to a blue wooden door with a white and blue building in the background. What is Ebola and why is stopping the latest outbreak so difficult? A person wearing a mask and peach headwrap is having their temperature checked with a contactless thermometer near their ear. it reads 36.3 degrees. 'Ebola has tortured us': Fear grips eastern DR Congo as deadly virus spreads All DR Congo's players, as well as the team's French coach, Sébastien Desabre, are based outside the central African country and will therefore not be affected by the restrictions now the training camp has been cancelled. Some team staff based in DR Congo left the country on Wednesday, Kalemo told the Associated Press, ahead of the 21-day deadline. The high-profile event in Kinshasa was supposed to have been attended by fans, along with DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi, according to Reuters. Kinshasa is roughly 1,800 km (1,120m) away from the eastern Ituri province, the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak. There have not yet been any reported cases in the city. On Wednesday, the WHO said 139 people were thought to have died, out of 600 suspected cases. However, on the same day, Congolese health minister Samuel Roger Kamba told state broadcaster RTNC TV that authorities had registered 159 deaths. The outbreak has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo. There is currently no vaccine for this species and the WHO has said it could take up to nine months for a jab to be ready. The outbreak has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo. There is currently no vaccine for this species and the WHO has said it could take up to nine months for a jab to be ready Why does Ebola keep breaking out in DR Congo? Ebola itself was first discovered in what is now the DRC in 1976 and the country is now facing its 17th outbreak. So why does DR Congo keep facing disease outbreaks? A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News Africa Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica An outbreak of Ebola in DR Congo involves a rare strain and is in an area affected by conflict. Yves Sakila, who was 35, died on one of Dublin's busiest shopping streets after an alleged shoplifting incident. In its latest update, the World Health Organization says there have now been 139 suspected deaths and 600 cases. Mali is a landlocked country and depends heavily on fuel transported from neighbouring countries. Tendai Chatama and Nyamwererei Chatikobo will be sharing dishes as part of Africa Week. Nine deportees arrive from the US as part of Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. Ebola was first discovered in what is now the DR Congo in 1976 and the country is now facing its 17th outbreak. The former power minister was sentenced to 75 years in jail in absentia earlier this month.