A new outbreak of Ebola has been confirmed in Congo, as reported by Africa’s leading public health authority on Friday. The outbreak has resulted in 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases, primarily affecting the remote Ituri province.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently investigating whether this outbreak involves the Ebola Zaire strain, known for being the most lethal form of the virus, or another variant.
In a related development, Uganda has reported an Ebola-related death of a Congolese man, a case believed to have been imported from Congo.
The outbreak is concentrated in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones located in eastern Congo. This area, which borders Uganda and South Sudan, poses a potential regional transmission threat due to factors such as frequent travel related to mining activities, inadequate infrastructure, and ongoing security issues.
Ebola, a highly infectious and often deadly disease, spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as blood, vomit, and semen. Those infected may experience symptoms like fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and internal bleeding.
Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease spread through bodily fluids including blood, vomit and semen. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal bleeding.
The Africa CDC said only four of the deaths have so far been laboratory confirmed, while testing and sequencing efforts continue to determine the exact strain involved in the outbreak.
Initial tests suggested the outbreak may not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which was responsible for Congo’s devastating 2018-2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.
Health workers walk with a boy suspected of having the Ebola virus at a treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on Sept. 9, 2018. (Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP)
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it sent a response team to the region last week to help local officials investigate the outbreak and collect samples.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Congo has a “strong track record” responding to Ebola outbreaks and announced the agency is releasing $500,000 in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
Health authorities said Congo has stockpiles of Ebola treatments and approximately 2,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, though officials cautioned the vaccine is only effective against the Ebola Zaire strain and not against Sudan or Bundibugyo variants.
A health worker sprays disinfectant on a colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on Sept. 9, 2018. (Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP)
This marks Congo’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.
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