20 people have been reported dead from the epidemic in the Beni region of North Kivu -which homes the Ugandan-linked Islamist militia called the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
The WHO unlicensed vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, which had proved to be highly effective was given to frontline workers in the DRC. AFP PHOTO
According to the Health Minister, Oly Ilunga Kalenga‘s statement,they received “26 cases of fever with haemorrhagic indications, of which 20 were fatal,” Kalenga added that Six samples taken from hospitalized patients arrived in Kinshasa on Tuesday for analysis by the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB).
Four of the six samples tested positive for Ebola virus disease.
“At this point, there is no indication that these two epidemics, which are more than 2,500 kilometres (1,500 miles) apart, are connected,” he said.(Daily monitor, August 2, 2018)
DRC had been declared free from the 10-week Ebola on July 24 that had eaten-up the northwestern of the country, claiming 33 lives and More than 50 people were infected.
This outbreak marks the 10th in the DRC since 1976 and the area affected is on a lake that neighbors Uganda and Rwanda, which raises the possibility of international spread.
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