GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Three new cases of Ebola have been confirmed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing to 11 the number of cases since authorities declared a resurgence of the virus last month.
In a separate outbreak of the disease in Guinea, the World Health Organization said two new confirmed cases have emerged, bringing the total to 17 in the first resurgence of the virus there since the world’s worst outbreak in 2013-2016.
In Congo the new cases were detected in the Butembo health zone, Eugene Nzanzu Salita, the health minister of North Kivu province, told reporters.
The cases represent a flare-up of the 2018-20 epidemic, which killed more than 2,200 people before it was declared over last June. Four people have died and two have recovered among the 11 cases, Nzanzu said.
Congo has experienced 11 outbreaks since the virus was first discovered near the Ebola River in 1976, more than double any other country.
As of Sunday, health authorities in Guinea had vaccinated more than 1,100 people against Ebola, Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergencies official, told a media briefing.
“We have identified approximately 500 contacts and 99% of them are currently tracked and followed,” he said.
(Reporting by Fiston Mahamba, Aaron Ross and Manojna Maddipatla; writing by Aaron Ross and Hereward Holland; editing by Ed Osmond and Barbara Lewis)
