WHO: Eleven Cases Of Ebola Virus Reported In DRC So Far In Latest Outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said eleven cases of Ebola virus disease have so far been confirmed by health officials in the northeastern province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), reported CGTN Africa.

The fresh Ebola cases have been reported more than five months after the end of a previous outbreak in the same province.

In early May 2021, the DRC officially declared the end of the 12th Ebola outbreak in North Kivu province after 11 confirmed cases, 6 of them fatal. The health ministry declared the resurgence of the virus on October 8 in North Kivu province.

In a Twitter post, the WHO said 11 Ebola cases have been reported, including six deaths, since the first confirmed case of a two-year-old boy who died on October 6. It added that 604 people exposed to the virus have been identified so far.

The first two patients cured of Ebola virus were discharged from the local Ebola center on Thursday. According to Dr. Michel Tosalisana, the chief medical officer of North Kivu’s Beni area, the patients are a couple admitted in the center soon after the virus reappeared in the region.

The DRC has reported 12 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first discovered in 1976. According to the WHO, Butsili was one of the epicentres of the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, considered the second deadliest in the world killing nearly 2,300 people.

Ebola is a viral disease that causes blood clots, internal bleeding and leads to other complications. The infection often begins with symptoms such as fever, fatigue, muscle pains, and is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function, and unexplained bleeding. The virus can be spread through contact with the bodily fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from the disease.