NewsTracker Answers for week of May 21, 2018

Q: Congo has confirmed a case of Ebola in Mbandaka, a city of 1.2 million, marking the first urban case in the latest outbreak of the disease.  A World Health Organization official called the case “a game changer.” Where is the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa?

Circle the area on this map


Q: Both the nation of Congo and the Ebola virus get their names from . . .

A. Forests

B. Mountains

C. Rivers

D. Tribal groups


C. The Congo River which runs through the country is the second longest river in Africa and the deepest river in the world. The virus was first isolated in a Congo village near the Ebola River which connects and drains to the Congo River.


Q: Tens of millions people live along the Congo River, including those in Mbandaka where the first urban case was discovered. The river also connects Mbandaka to Congo’s capital and largest city . . .

A. Addis Ababa

B. Kinsasha

C. Nairobi

D. Pretoria


B. Kinsasha’s 11.8 million people are about 360 miles away from Mbandaka which is about 100 miles from where this latest outbreak started. Ebola is much harder to contain in urban areas, and the Congo River still is a transportation lifeline in a land with few roads or railways.


Q: A total of  28,616 suspected cases and 11,310 deaths were blamed on a 2014 outbreak of Ebola mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. These nations are in which part of Africa?

A. North

B. East

C. South

D. West


D. All of these nations are on the western coast of the continent. The virus causes internal bleeding and spreads rapidly through contact with small amounts of bodily fluid. Its early symptoms are not obvious, and the worst effects may take weeks to show. 


Q: Ebola can spread to humans from animal hosts by the commercial trade in meat of non-domesticated mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds hunted for food in tropical forests. What is this food commonly called?

A. Bushmeat

B. Forest fare

C. Viands

D. All of the above


A. The Congo’s bushmeat crisis emerged mainly as a result of the poor living conditions of the Congolese people and a lack of education about the dangers of eating it. Many of the people are dependent on bushmeat, either as an income source (selling the meat), or for food.