Ebola resurfaces in eastern Democratic Republic Congo

Ebola resurfaces in eastern Democratic Republic Congo
# 08 February 2021 09:13 (UTC +04:00)

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced Sunday a reappearance of the Ebola virus in the eastern part of the Central African country, more than two months after the end of the last outbreak, APA reports citing Anadolu Agency.

The patient, who has since died, was the wife of an Ebola survivor. Samples have been sent to the National Institute of Biomedical Research in the capital Kinshasa for genome sequencing to determine whether there is a link to the previous outbreak, World Health Organization (WHO) Africa said in a statement.

"I also want to tell my brothers and sisters of Butembo not to panic," local news website Actualite quoted Minister of Health Eteni Longondo as saying.

"Another national team will follow early next week. We are here. We will do everything to make this disease go away as soon as possible," Longondo added.

He said a provincial response team had been formed and would be in the northeastern city of Beni on Sunday.

The expertise and capacity of local health teams have been critical in detecting this new Ebola case and paving the way for a timely response, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa.

"WHO is providing support to local and national health authorities to quickly trace, identify and treat the contacts to curtail the further spread of the virus."

#
#

THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED