Kinshasa : The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the continent’s top public health agency, confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded.
The agency stated that most of the deaths and suspected cases were recorded in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, noting that four deaths were reported among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases were also detected in the city of Bunia.
The agency expressed concern over the potential spread of the disease amid population density and movement linked to mining activities in the Mongwalu area, in addition to security challenges hindering efforts to contain the outbreak in the affected areas.
Ebola is a highly infectious disease transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood and vomit, causing a rare but severe illness that is often fatal.
In the same context, Uganda announced on Friday a case linked to the Ebola outbreak, with health authorities reporting the death of a 59-year-old Congolese man at a hospital in the capital Kampala last Thursday after he contracted the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
Ugandan authorities confirmed that no local transmission has been recorded so far, noting that border monitoring measures have been intensified, contacts isolated, and emergency response teams activated.
Africa CDC also stated that genomic sequencing results are expected within the next 24 hours to determine the characteristics of the viral strain more precisely.
