WHO confirms another Ebola outbreak in DRC
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Another Ebola outbreak has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, on the other side of the country from an Ebola outbreak that has been ongoing since 2018.
The DRC government announced that the outbreak was detected near the city of Mbandaka in Équateur Province, in western DRC, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, said during a press briefing. So far, six cases, including four deaths, have been reported, Tedros said.
“The announcement follows a complex Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC that seems to be in its final phase,” Tedros said.
The area where the new outbreak is occurring also was the site of an outbreak in 2018 in which 54 people contracted Ebola and 33 people died. According to Tedros, WHO staff is on the ground in Mbandaka supporting the response.
“This outbreak is a reminder that COVID-19 is not the only health threat people face,” Tedros wrote on Twitter.
The new outbreak emerged as an ongoing outbreak, which was declared on Aug. 1, 2018, began winding down. That outbreak was nearly declared over in early April of this year, before a new cluster of cases emerged on April 10. It surpassed 3,400 cases and 2,240 deaths as of May 25, the second largest Ebola outbreak after the West African epidemic.
According to WHO, the DRC Ministry of Health began the 42-day countdown to the declaration of the end of the first outbreak on May 14. – by Caitlyn Stulpin
Reference:
- WHO. Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Health Emergency Update. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/ebola/drc-2019. Accessed June 1, 2020.
Disclosure: Tedros reports no relevant financial disclosures.