DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Kinshasha: As Africa is battling the scourge of the COVID-19 outbreak, there is also a return outbreak of Ebola in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Both the World Health Organization and the Congolese Ministry of Health have confirmed this in separate statements.
The continent was declared Ebola free by the World Health Organization in June last year, and news of the return a an epidemic of its magnitude may be a cause for concern for Africa’s health system.
According to the statement two people had contracted Ebola and died in North Kivu Province during the second week of February.
“A 60 year old woman who died on February 10 in Bienna district had a link with a woman who also died after contracting Ebola and was married to a survivor of the previous major outbreak,” the statement said.
It added that the ministry of health had deployed personnel to trace contacts of the two women in Biena and Katwa.
Read Also: Southern Africa Tops In COVID-19 Upsurge
Ebola is a disease that attacks animals and humans was discovered in 1976 near Ebola river, in the now Democratic Republic of Congo.
In humans, it causes severe bleeding and organ failure, which often leads to death if not treated; and can be spread through contact with bodily fluids such as blood.
From 2018 to 2020 over 2200 people have been killed by the disease in eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It had also spread to other countries like Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Italy,Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali and Gabon.
Comments are closed.