A fresh outbreak of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 15 deaths have been reported in Kasai Province since late August.
Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba told journalists in Kinshasa on Thursday that this is the country’s 16th Ebola outbreak. The last one, three years ago, killed six people.
So far, 28 suspected cases have been documented in Kasai, with the first infection traced to a 34-year-old pregnant woman admitted to hospital on 20 August.
A report from the National Library of Medicine in 2022 noted that, from May 2018 to September 2022, the DRC experienced seven Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks within its borders.
According to a report by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 4,920 cases have been reported since the discovery of the disease in 1976, with recent data showing over 3,055 deaths.
Ebola, since 1976 and thought to have originated from bats, spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It causes internal bleeding, organ damage, and in many cases, death. Between 2018 and 2020, the DRC experienced its deadliest outbreak, which claimed nearly 2,300 lives.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has deployed specialists to support Congolese health teams in controlling the spread.
“We’re acting with determination to rapidly halt the spread of the virus and protect communities,” said Mohamed Janabi, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa.
Laboratory analysis shows the Zaire strain is behind the outbreak. A vaccine exists for this variant, and health authorities have prepared 2,000 doses to be transported from Kinshasa along with available treatments.
Officials caution that numbers may rise in the coming weeks as poor infrastructure and limited access to remote communities remain major challenges to the emergency response.
