Africa's top health body confirms new Ebola outbreak in remote Congo province

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KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Africa CDC, the continent's top public health body, on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far.

The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control ​and Prevention said in a statement.

“Four deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation,” the agency said.

The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. The disease it causes is rare but severe, and often fatal.

The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo’s last Ebola outbreak was declared over after 43 deaths.

The new outbreak is the country’s 17th since the disease first emerged in the Congo in 1976. An Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people.

Ituri is in a remote part of Congo characterized by poor road networks, and is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.

The new outbreak will create more worry for the Central African country, which has been battling various armed groups in the east, including the M23 rebel group, which launched a rapid assault in January last year and has since occupied key cities.

Ituri in particular is also battling violence from the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Force militant group which has killed dozens there and in other parts of the east.

Congo, Africa's second-largest country by land area, often faces logistical challenges in responding to disease outbreaks. During last year's outbreak, which lasted three months, the World Health Organization initially faced significant challenges in delivering vaccines due to limited access and scarce funds.