WHO confirms second case of Ebola in Congo

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday May 15, 2017 confirmed a second case of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This follows a previous outbreak of 17 other suspected cases in the nation.

Officials are trying to locate 125 people who are believed to be linked to cases identified in the remote northeastern province of Bas-Uele in Congo.

Three people have died so far in the 19 suspected and confirmed cases, WHO’s Congo spokesman Eugene Kabambi said.

The latest outbreak comes one year after the end of the epidemic which killed more than 11,000 people across West Africa.

A staggering 300,000 emergency doses of an Ebola vaccine, developed by Merck, could be made available in case of a large-scale outbreak, the GAVI global vaccine alliance said.

It still remains unclear how the first victim, a male, caught the virus, although past outbreaks were caused by contact with infected bush meat – such as apes.

Congo, whose forests contain the River Ebola, where the disease was first detected in 1976, has experienced many outbreaks and has tended to succeed in containing the spread of the disease.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti had on Saturday May 13, 2017 visited Kinshasa to discuss with national authorities and partners ways to mount a rapid, effective and coherent response in order to stop the ongoing outbreak.

The visit follows notification by the DRC Government of an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Likati health zone, Bas Uele Province, in the northern part of the country bordering Central African Republic. The Likati health zone is around 1400 kilometers from the capital. As of today, 11 suspected cases including 3 deaths have been reported.