(SeaPRwire) – Africa’s leading public health body confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, following reports of 65 fatalities and 246 suspected cases in the remote Ituri province.
According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, authorities are working to identify if the outbreak is caused by the Ebola Zaire strain—the most lethal and recognized form—or another variant.
Uganda, a neighboring nation, also reported one Ebola-linked death of a Congolese man, a case described by officials as imported from Congo.
The outbreak is focused in eastern Congo’s Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, a region close to the Ugandan and South Sudanese borders. Officials have warned that mining-related movement, poor infrastructure, and persistent instability could elevate the risk of cross-border transmission.
Ebola is a severe, frequently deadly illness transmitted via bodily fluids such as blood, vomit, and semen. Common symptoms are fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, and internal hemorrhage.
The Africa CDC stated that, to date, only four of the deaths have been confirmed by laboratory tests. Work is ongoing to test and sequence samples to pinpoint the specific virus strain responsible.
Preliminary test results indicate the outbreak might not be the Ebola Zaire strain, the variant behind Congo’s severe 2018-2020 epidemic that claimed over 1,000 lives.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported deploying a response team to the area last week to assist local authorities with the investigation and sample collection.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted Congo possesses a “strong track record” in managing Ebola outbreaks and declared the agency is providing $500,000 in emergency funds to aid containment work.
Health officials mentioned that Congo maintains reserves of Ebola therapeutics and around 2,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine. They noted, however, that this vaccine only works against the Zaire strain and is ineffective against the Sudan or Bundibugyo variants.
This event represents the 17th documented Ebola outbreak in Congo since the virus was first discovered there in 1976.
The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.
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