DRC: Ebola epidemic resurfaces, killing dozens

The Democratic Republic of Congo is still threatened by the Ebola epidemic. A new outbreak of Ebola reported this week in the east of the country have killed 33 people, said on Saturday by the Ministry of Health.

Thirteen cases of haemorrhagic fever were confirmed, including three deaths, the ministry said in a statement, adding that cases have been reported in North Kivu and the neighbouring Ituri province. Three other cases were recorded in Beni.

These new cases, according to GlobalNews, come just a week after the government announced the end of the previous outbreak in the north western part of the country.

“At this stage, there is nothing to indicate that these two epidemics, separated by more than 2500 km, are linked,” Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga said in a statement.

So far, 879 people who have been in contact with Ebola patients have been identified, says the ministry.

As in the case of the epidemic in western Congo, health officials plan to deploy a vaccine manufactured by Merck that helped stop the spread of the virus in the port city of Kinshasa.