New Ebola outbreak confirmed in DR Congo province, killing at least 65 people
The first Ebola cases and deaths were reported in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Now, neighbouring Uganda has said at least one case has been confirmed there too, as ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew explains
At least 65 people have died after an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's remote Ituri province, Africa's top public health body has said.
As of Friday, more than 246 suspected cases of the disease have been recorded, mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones.
Uganda reported one death in an Ebola case on Friday, which it said was imported from the neighbouring Congo.
Ebola is a highly contagious virus and is spread through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. The disease it causes is rare but severe, and often fatal.
The symptoms start with flu-like signs such as high fever, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache, and sore throat, and there is no cure.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said four deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases, while suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia.
Ituri is in a remote eastern part of DR Congo and is more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.
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Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing and control challenges
Ituri is in a remote eastern part of DR Congo and is more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.
Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing and control challenges.
The man who died in Uganda was admitted to a hospital in Kampala three days before his death.
No local cases have yet been confirmed in the country.
The new cases come five months after DR Congo's last Ebola outbreak, which saw 43 deaths. It marks the country's 17th outbreak since the disease first emerged in the Congo in 1976.
DR Congo's deadliest outbreak was between 2018 and 2020, during which nearly 2,300 people died, according to the World Health Organization. It was also the world's second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, before it was declared over on June 25, 2020.
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