Ebola outbreak in DR Congo expands to 65th health zone — Anadolu Agency

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to a new health zone in Bas-Uele province. According to Anadolu Agency, the World Health Organization said Dakwa had become the new health zone affected by the Bundibugyo strain. Since the beginning of the outbreak, the number of affected health zones has risen to 65.

More than 9,000 confirmed cases

According to the latest WHO situation report, 9,066 cases of the disease, including 4,381 deaths, have been confirmed in the DR Congo since the outbreak was declared in May.

The epidemic has affected seven provinces: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele, Tshopo and South Ubangi. The WHO noted that virus transmission in the affected regions is uneven.

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Most cases recorded in Ituri

Ituri province remains the main epicentre of the outbreak. Significant virus transmission also continues in North Kivu and Haut-Uele.

WHO country outbreak response manager Catherine Smallwood expressed concern over the high proportion of community deaths, which stands at about 60%. According to her, in recent weeks, approximately one-third of new cases were community deaths, meaning that health services did not detect the patients before they died.

This outbreak has become the largest and deadliest in the history of the DR Congo and the second-largest Ebola outbreak worldwide after the 2014–2016 epidemic in West Africa. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention called for stronger regional preparedness after Kenya reported the first case imported from the DR Congo. On October 14, Kenyan authorities confirmed a second case of the Bundibugyo strain in a 39-year-old man, a close relative of the person with the first confirmed case.