DR Congo announces new Ebola outbreak

Authorities suspect 28 cases of the deadly virus, with the latest recorded in the southern Kasai province.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is confronting a new Ebola outbreak after health officials confirmed a case in the southern Kasai province.

The latest infection, identified in a 34-year-old pregnant woman, raises the country’s suspected case count to 28, with 15 deaths, the Ministry of Health reported on Thursday.

“These figures remain provisional, as investigations are still ongoing,” said Health Minister Roger Kamba at a press conference in the capital Kinshasa.

The United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the outbreak has affected the Bulape and Mweka areas of Kasai province, with patients exhibiting typical Ebola symptoms, including fever, vomiting, diarrhea and hemorrhaging.

‘Acting with determination’

The UN agency said it has sent experts to join the DRC’s own response team to help “rapidly strengthen disease surveillance, treatment and infection prevention and control in health facilities”. It also said it would ship two tonnes of medical and lab supplies to the Central African country.

“We’re acting with determination to rapidly halt the spread of the virus and protect communities,” said Mohamed Janabi, the WHO’s regional director for Africa. “Banking on the country’s longstanding expertise in controlling viral disease outbreaks, we’re working closely with the health authorities to quickly scale up key response measures to end the outbreak as soon as possible.”

The Ebola outbreak is the 16th to hit the DRC, with the last coming in April 2022 in the northwestern Equateur province. Authorities announced that outbreak had ended after about a month and a half.

First identified in 1976, Ebola, whose natural host is the bat, has set off a series of epidemics in various African countries, killing over 15,000 people. The death rate is typically high, ranging up to 90 percent in some outbreaks.