Ebola spreads to 8th province in DR Congo

The Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to an eighth province as authorities struggle to contain the nation’s worst recorded epidemic, health authorities said Sunday.

The Health Ministry said North Ubangi in northwestern Congo has become the latest province affected after two cases were confirmed, including one death, in an area bordering the Central African Republic.

The new cases involved men in their 20s in the Wapinda health zone, which borders Bas-Uele province.

Until last week, the disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain had been confined to seven provinces: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele, Tshopo and South-Ubangi.

The transmission remains highly heterogeneous across the affected regions, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Ituri remains the principal focus of the outbreak, while substantial transmission persists in North Kivu and Haut-Uele.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo has climbed above 9,400, including 4,536 deaths since the outbreak’s declaration in May, according to the latest official data.

Community resistance remains one of the challenges, with many deaths occurring in communities.

WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Yakub Janabi on Sunday underlined the importance of local leaders in building trust, community ownership and collective action.

Around two-thirds of deaths are occurring at home, according to the WHO.

The outbreak has become the largest and deadliest ever recorded in Congo and the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally after the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.

Kenya's Health Ministry on Sunday confirmed one new case of Ebola, bringing the total number of positive cases to eight this month.

Health authorities called for more vigilance to avert further spread of Ebola across borders.