/ 29 May 2013

New Ebola cases reported in DRC

The last Ebola outbreak in the DRC ended six months ago.
The last Ebola outbreak in the DRC ended six months ago.

Sylvestre Ntumba, an official working for the United Nations' office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, said six cases of Ebola had been recorded between May 1 and May 12 in the Bas-Uele district, in the north-eastern Orientale Province.

"Six suspected cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever have been reported," he told reporters at a press conference in Kinshasa.

"With the support of the World Health Organisation [WHO], a team from the provincial health division is on the ground to investigate and to take samples," he said, adding that they are currently awaiting results.

To date, no treatment or vaccine is available for Ebola, which kills between 25% and 90% of those who fall sick, depending on the strain of the virus, according to the WHO.

The disease is transmitted by direct contact with blood, faeces or sweat, or by sexual contact or unprotected handling of contaminated corpses.

Ebola, one of the world's most virulent diseases, was first discovered in the DRC in 1976, and the country has had eight outbreaks.

The most recent epidemic, in the same region, infected 62 people and left 34 dead between May and November last year, according to the DRC's health ministry. – AFP