DR Congo reports 8 Ebola cases, including 6 deaths: WHO

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Eight cases of Ebola virus disease have been confirmed so far by health officials in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday, marking the latest outbreak.

The eight cases as of Nov. 1 include six deaths, the WHO's regional office for Africa said on its Twitter account.

It added that 573 people exposed to the virus have been identified.

The Health Ministry in DR Congo announced on Oct. 8 that a new confirmed case of Ebola had been detected in the Butsili Health Area of the Beni Health Zone in North Kivu.

The case was a 3-year-old boy who, in early October, developed symptoms including physical weakness, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, breathing difficulty, dark stool and blood in his vomit, the WHO said on its website. He died on Oct. 6.

Local authorities backed by the WHO launched a vaccination campaign in the region last month, but officials acknowledged that the number of contacts and infections are likely to keep growing.

Earlier this year, a three-month outbreak in and around the city of Butembo in North Kivu ended in May after 11 cases and six deaths.

DR Congo’s 10th Ebola outbreak, which started in North Kivu in August 2018 and lasted for nearly two years, was the second largest in the world, with 3,481 cases, 2,299 deaths and 1,162 survivors, according to WHO data.