The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to two additional northeastern provinces — Haute Uele and Tshopo, according to the latest report from the country’s National Institute of Public Health.
Official data released late Sunday shows that the number of confirmed Ebola cases across the country has risen to 1,926, including 702 deaths. As of Saturday, four cases, including two deaths, were reported in Tshopo, and one death was confirmed in Haute Uele.
Spread and context of the outbreak
This Ebola outbreak, the 17th in Congo, was declared on May 15 and has primarily affected Ituri province. Cases have also been reported in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
Ebola is a often fatal viral disease that spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or animals. It causes high fever, vomiting, and both internal and external bleeding.
The Reuters agency reported at the end of June that Congolese health authorities had begun tracking individuals who may have come into contact with the virus in Tshopo and Haute Uele, but these two provinces had not been included in daily government reports until now.
“While current investigations suggest that all identified cases in these two provinces are likely linked to the importation of the infection from Niandji in Ituri, it is necessary and appropriate… to consider these two provinces as an epidemic zone,” according to a July 11 report by the National Institute of Public Health.
The administrative center of Tshopo is Kisangani, one of the largest cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Haute Uele shares borders with South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
Source: The Straits Times
