The World Health Organization on Friday confirmed that the health authorities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have recorded the first relapse in the ongoing Ebola outbreak, reported Reuters.
The Ebola outbreak in Congo, which began last year, has so far infected more than 3,300 people and killed over 2,200, making it the second-worst on record.
Earlier this month, Congolese health authorities had reported that a survivor in Mabalako, North Kivu province, was down with the virus again.
After preliminary tests, it has been confirmed that it’s a case of relapse, the WHO said in a weekly report.
“Rare cases of relapse — in which a person who has recovered from EVD [Ebola] gets disease symptoms again — have been documented during past outbreaks, but this is the first relapse documented in this outbreak,” the report read.
According to the WHO, eleven new Ebola cases were confirmed in the past week, all of whom are believed to have been infected by the virus from the person who relapsed. The health body said the case was a potential source of infection for 28 people.
“It is a single transmission chain but it is worrying,” said Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s emergencies programme, on Thursday.
Ryan said Mabalako’s current situation was worrying as it is located near to Butembo, a populous trading hub and one-time epicentre of the outbreak. He said that there was a massive Ebola outbreak in Butembo only 6 months ago, and any continued transmission in Mabalako may potentially re-infect Butembo.
Notably, increase in violence by rebel militias and criminal groups near Congo’s borders with Uganda and Rwanda has held back efforts to contain the outbreak. Dozens of people, including international health workers, have been killed in the attacks.
“That has created the perfect storm that has allowed virus to get away from us and go on underground,” Ryan said.
