New Ebola Outbreak in Congo

Up to 12 people have been found infected with Ebola in a new outbreak of the deadly disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

A week ago, authorities reported six infections in the northwestern city of Mbandaka, saying they appeared to be separate from another outbreak of the virus that has raged in the east since 2018.

There have now been nine confirmed cases and three probable cases of the disease in and around Mbandaka, the WHO said. Six of those people have died, it added.

The city sits on the Congo River, close to the border with the Republic of Congo./reuters.com

"This is a reminder that COVID-19 is not the only health threat people face," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "Although much of our attention is on the pandemic, WHO is continuing to monitor and respond to many other health emergencies."

This is the Democratic Republic of the Congo's 11th outbreak of Ebola since the virus was first discovered in the country in 1976. The city of Mbandaka and its surrounding area were the site of Democratic Republic of the Congo's 9th Ebola outbreak, which took place from May to July 2018.

New outbreaks of Ebola are expected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo given the existence of the virus in an animal reservoir in many parts of the country./who.int