DRC: At Least 12 People Found Infected In Congo’s Latest Ebola Outbreak In Mbandaka

The World Health Organization on Monday said as many as 12 people have been found infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the latest outbreak of the deadly disease, reported Reuters.

The health authorities reported six infections in the northwestern city of Mbandaka a week ago, saying that the cases appeared to be separate from another outbreak of the virus that has raged in the east since 2018.

The WHO said there have now been nine confirmed cases and three probable cases of the disease in and around Mbandaka in DRC’s Equateur province and six of those people have died. Mbandaka sits on the Congo River, close to the border with the Republic of Congo. The newly reported cases have dashed hopes of finally bringing this deadly disease to a timely end. 

The Ebola epidemic that began in August 2018 killed more than 2,200 people started in eastern Ituri, North and South Kivu provinces.

The new cases in Mbandaka mark the DRC’s 11th major Ebola outbreak since the virus was discovered near northern Congo’s Ebola River in 1976. It is Congo’s third outbreak in two years of the virus.

Meanwhile, Mark Lowcock, the UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, has released 40 million U.S. dollars in aid to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in its response to Ebola and other health emergencies.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Monday said the funds from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) will help to strengthen the DRC’s existing health services to enable follow-up support for Ebola survivors and establish community-based surveillance, alert and rapid response systems. The aid money will also be utilised to deliver food, provide shelter, water and sanitation support, and health, education and protection services, said the office.