A new Ebola outbreak has hit the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 60 people dying and hundreds more suspected of having the disease. The outbreak has been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported four deaths among laboratory-confirmed cases and suspected cases in Bunia.
More than 60 people have died after a new Ebola outbreak hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as hundreds more are believed to have the disease.
The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
"Four deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation," the agency said. The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. Early symptoms include fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headaches and a sore throat.
These can then develop to severe bleeding and organ failure. The disease it causes is rare but severe, and often fatal. The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo's last Ebola outbreak was declared over after 43 deaths. The new outbreak is the country's 17th since the disease first emerged in the Congo in 1976.
More than 60 people have died after a new Ebola outbreak hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo (File image of health workers at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, July 16, 2019) The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen (File image of health workers spraying a room during a funeral in DR Congo in 2018) An Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people. Ituri is in a remote part of Congo with relatively poor road networks, and is more than 620 miles from the nation's capital, Kinshasa.
The new outbreak will create more worry for the Central African country, which has already been decimated by warring armed groups in the east, including the M23 rebel group, which launched a rapid assault in January last year and has since occupied key cities. Ituri in particular is also battling violence from the so-called Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Force militant group which has killed dozens there and in other parts of the east.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa's second-largest country by land area, often faces logistical challenges in responding to disease outbreaks. During last year's outbreak, which lasted three months, the World Health Organisation initially faced significant challenges in delivering vaccines due to limited access and scarce funds
Ebola Democratic Republic Of Congo Outbreak Deaths Suspected Cases Bunia Pending Confirmation Central African Country Warring Armed Groups M23 Rebel Group Islamic State-Linked Allied Democratic Force Violence Logistical Challenges World Health Organisation Vaccines Limited Access Scarce Funds
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