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World / Africa

Second Ebola case confirmed in eastern Congo, health official says

Published: 14 Oct 2021 - 02:21 pm | Last Updated: 27 Oct 2021 - 04:44 pm
Kavota Mugisha Robert, a healthcare worker, who volunteered in the Ebola response, decontaminates his colleague after he entered the house of 85-year-old woman, suspected of dying of Ebola, in the eastern Congolese town of Beni in the Democratic Republic

Kavota Mugisha Robert, a healthcare worker, who volunteered in the Ebola response, decontaminates his colleague after he entered the house of 85-year-old woman, suspected of dying of Ebola, in the eastern Congolese town of Beni in the Democratic Republic

Reuters

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo: A second case of Ebola has been confirmed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a health official said on Thursday, less than a week after the death of a young boy raised fears of another major outbreak.

Authorities in the city of Beni detected the case on Wednesday, the same day that medics began an Ebola vaccination campaign there, city official Michel Tosalisana told local media.

The World Health Organization said three people from the same neighbourhood died in September after experiencing Ebola-like symptoms, which can include severe vomiting, haemorrhaging and diarrhoea.

Beni was an epicentre of the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak that killed more than 2,200 people and infected more than 1,000 others. The most recent flare-up of the deadly virus ended in May after killing six people.

It is not yet clear whether the latest cases are linked to previous outbreaks, health officials said.