Congo has announced a new Ebola outbreak. Here’s what to know

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GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s authorities announced earlier this week a new Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than a dozen people in a southern province.

Samples analyzed at the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, confirmed the presence of the most virulent strain of the virus, known as “Zaire,” the earlier name of the country.

The announcement comes as the authorities are facing renewed, intensified fighting in the east and an already fragile health care system has been further impaired by U.S. aid cuts.

The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be transmitted to people from wild animals. It then spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and with surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing, contaminated with these fluids.

The disease it causes is a rare but severe — and often fatal — illness in people. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding.

The virus was first discovered in 1976, near the lake of Ebola in what is now Congo. The first outbreaks occurred in remote villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests.

Congo’s Health Ministry announced on Thursday a new Ebola outbreak after the first confirmed case of a 34-year-old pregnant woman in the locality of Boulapé, in Mweka territory, in southern Kasai province.

She was admitted to the hospital last month with symptoms of hemorrhagic fever, and died a few hours later from multiple organ failure.

The new outbreak is suspected of causing 15 deaths among 28 people with symptoms, including four health workers, the ministry said. It’s the 16th outbreak of Ebola in Congo, and Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said the fatality rate, estimated at 53.6%, showed the gravity of the situation.

The World Health Organization said that the number of cases is likely to rise.

“Case numbers are likely to increase as the transmission is ongoing,” it said in a statement. “Response teams and local teams will work to find the people who may be infected and need to receive care, to ensure everyone is protected as quickly as possible.”

Dr. Jean Paul Mikobi, the chief medical officer of the Boulapé health zone, also warned of a possible surge in infections, as many residents have fled their villages in fear of contamination, making it difficult to trace and monitor those who fall ill.

Dr. Amitié Bukidi, the head of the Mweka health zone, said Saturday that all the territory’s four health zones had received suspected cases.

The last Ebola outbreak, in Congo’s northeastern Equateur province in 2022, killed six people.

An earlier outbreak in eastern Congo between 2018 and 2020 killed more than 1,000 people, the most deaths after the 2014-2016 outbreak in the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia that killed more than 11,000 people.

A volatile security situation and deep community mistrust have hampered efforts to control the epidemic in eastern Congo. Ebola treatment centers have come under repeated attack, leaving government health officials to staff clinics in the hot spots of Butembo and Katwa.

Health officials have urged the population to strictly follow preventive measures, including social distancing and handwashing.

The WHO said it dispatched experts to Kasai province to strengthen disease surveillance, treatment and infection prevention in health facilities. It is also delivering supplies including personal protective equipment, mobile laboratory gear and medicines. Congo has a stockpile of treatments and of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine, WHO said.

A team of experts from the National Institute of Biomedical Research was also sent from Kinshasa to the Mweka health zone, and set up a mobile laboratory to test samples taken from patients on site, according to Bukidi.

“The main challenges we face involve the lack of personnel and the shortage of personal protective equipment,” Bukidi told The Associated Press. “Beyond that, our hospitals need to be supplied with medicines and special equipment capable of addressing this epidemic.”

In response to the spread of the virus, Francois Mingambengele, the administrator of Mweka territory, imposed partial confinement measures on Friday. They include the suspension of classes and graduation ceremonies and the closure of weekly markets.

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Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal. Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo contributed to this report.