OMM Newsroom
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a new health zone, with infections and fatalities continuing to rise, the World Health Organization’s Africa regional bureau said on Wednesday.
The latest WHO situation report puts the number of confirmed cases at 9,066, including 4,381 deaths, since the outbreak was declared in May.
The outbreak has affected seven provinces: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele, Tshopo and South-Ubangi. Dakwa health zone in Bas-Uele is the latest to report cases of the Bundibugyo virus strain, bringing the total number of affected health zones to 65.
Transmission varies considerably across affected areas. Ituri remains the outbreak’s main focus, while substantial transmission continues in North Kivu and Haut-Uele.
Catherine Swallwood, the WHO’s incident manager in the country, said authorities remained concerned that about 60% of deaths were occurring in communities. In recent weeks, roughly one-third of new cases have involved people who died in their communities, indicating that health authorities had not detected them before their deaths.
The outbreak is the largest and deadliest ever recorded in Congo and the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak, after the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called for stronger regional preparedness to prevent further spread, after Kenya reported its first imported case from Congo last week.
Kenyan authorities confirmed a second case of the Bundibugyo strain on Wednesday. The patient is a 39-year-old man and a close family member of the country’s first confirmed case.
