DRC Health Ministry Confirms New Ebola Virus Case In Eastern City Of Beni

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday confirmed a new Ebola virus case in the eastern city of Beni, reported The Aljazeera.

The DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) confirmed the finding on Monday and said that the case is genetically linked to the large outbreak in 2018-2020 that was centered in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, located in the north-eastern part of the country. More than 3,470 people were infected by the virus and 2,287 were killed during the outbreak.

The latest case if of a 46-year-old woman who was admitted to the Beni General Hospital in late July and died on Aug. 15. She was initially hospitalized for other health issues, but later showed Ebola related symptoms.

“With the experience acquired in the management of the Ebola virus disease and with the availability of vaccines and therapeutic molecules, the teams of the provincial health division and the Beni health zone are already at work on the ground to carry out response activities,” the DRC health ministry said.

Matshidiso Moeti, MBBS, the World Health Organization’s African regional office director, said the health agency is already investigating the case and getting prepared for a possible outbreak. She said the who staff are working with local officials to identify people who came in contact with the woman and monitor their health.

On July 4, the DRC declared an end to the latest Ebola outbreak that began less than three months ago in Mbandaka. Four confirmed cases and one probable case were reported, all of whom died, in the outbreak. It was the third outbreak in the province since 2018 and the country’s 14th overall.

Last week, the WHO recommended the use of two monoclonal antibodies against Ebola disease. The UN health body has called for countries to improve access to two monoclonal antibodies, mAb114, also known as Ansuvimab or Ebanga, and REGN-EB3, or Inmazeb against viral disease.