Congo Witnesses New Ebola Outbreak – 17 Infected, 11 dead

Obiajulu Joel Nwolu

The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a new outbreak of Ebola virus in some parts of Equateur.

Medical authorities on Monday said up to 17 people have been infected of the virus in the western province while a further 11 have died.

Health authorities in Congo had last week reported 12 infections at a time when the country is equally battling a measles epidemic that has claimed the lives of about 6,000 people coupled with over 4,800 coronavirus cases with 112 deaths.

The Central African country whose health system does not rank among the best in the African continent faces a tough battle against 3 deadly diseases.

The National Institute of Biomedical Research has reported an increased spread of the virus since a cluster of infections were confirmed in the city of Mbandaka on June 1.

The World Health Organisation had equally announced Two Ebola cases in seven health zones across Equateur, including two cases in Bolomba, 300 km (186 miles) northeast of Mbandaka.

The WHO said more than 2,500 people have been vaccinated across the province. The health body gave credit to vaccination for the control of an Ebola outbreak 1,000 km away in the east of the country which has killed more than 2,200 since 2018.

Sources say genetic sequencing shows the new outbreak of Ebola, a virus that was discovered near northern Congo’s Ebola River in 1976, is not linked to the one in the east.

Source: CGTN Africa

This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *