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DRC confirms two cases of Ebola in north-western town DRC: at least 17 people dead in confirmed Ebola outbreak
(about 2 hours later)
Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed two cases of Ebola in the north-western town of Bikoro and at least 10 more cases are suspected, the head of the national institute for biological research, Jean Jack Muyembe, has said. At least 17 people have died in the north-west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where health officials have confirmed an outbreak of Ebola, the health ministry has said.
A source at the ministry of health said there would be an official announcement about the confirmed cases later on Tuesday. It is the ninth time Ebola has been recorded in the DRC, whose eastern Ebola river gave the deadly virus its name when it was discovered there in the 1970s, and the outbreak comes less than a year after one that killed eight people.
It is the ninth time Ebola has been recorded in the DRC, whose eastern Ebola river gave the deadly virus its name when it was discovered there in the 1970s. The health ministry said: “Our country is facing another epidemic of the Ebola virus, which constitutes an international public health emergency.
The latest incidence of the disease comes less than a year after the central African country’s last outbreak, in which eight people were infected of whom four died. “We still dispose of the well-trained human resources that were able to rapidly control previous epidemics.”
Ebola is believed to be spread over long distances by bats, which can host the virus without dying, as it infects other animals it shares trees with such as monkeys. It often spreads to humans via infected bushmeat. Ebola is believed to be spread over long distances by bats, which can host the virus without dying, as they infect other animals with which they share trees, such as monkeys. Ebola often spreads to humans via infected bushmeat.
Congo’s vast, remote geography gives it an advantage, as outbreaks are often localised and relatively easy to isolate. Before the outbreak was confirmed, local health officials reported 21 patients showing signs of hemorrhagic fever around the village of Ikoko Impenge, near the town of Bikoro. Seventeen of those later died.
In west Africa, an Ebola outbreak that ended two years ago killed more than 11,300 people and infected 28,600 as it rolled through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia before finally being contained. Medical teams supported by the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières were dispatched to the zone on Saturday and took five samples from suspected active cases.
Two of the samples tested positive for the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, the ministry said.
After DRC’s previous Ebola flare-up, authorities approved the use of a new experimental vaccine, but in the end did not deploy it owing to logistical challenges and the relatively minor nature of the outbreak.
The worst Ebola epidemic ended in West Africa two years ago after killing more than 11,300 people and infecting about 28,600 across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Despite regular outbreaks every few years, death tolls in the DRC have been significantly lower.
Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
EbolaEbola
AfricaAfrica
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