New Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo declares new Ebola outbreak in Mbandaka | WHO | Regional Office for Africa Brazzaville/Kinshasa, 23 April 2022 – The health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today declared an outbreak of Ebola after a case was confirmed in Mbandaka, a city in the north-western Equateur Province. This is the third outbreak in the province since 2018. WHO | Regional Office for Africa

Brazzaville/Kinshasa, 23 April 2022 – The health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today declared an outbreak of Ebola after a case was confirmed in Mbandaka, a city in the north-western Equateur Province. This is the third outbreak in the province since 2018.

So far, just one case has been confirmed. The patient, a 31-year-old man, began experiencing symptoms on 5 April and after more than a week of care at home, sought treatment at a local health facility. On 21 April, the patient was admitted to an Ebola treatment centre for intensive care but died later that day. Having recognized the symptoms, health workers immediately submitted samples to test for Ebola virus disease. Investigations to determine the source of the outbreak are ongoing.

“Time is not on our side,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “The disease has had a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up. The positive news is that health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have more experience than anyone else in the world at controlling Ebola outbreaks quickly.”

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is experiencing its fourteenth Ebola outbreaks since 1976. The current outbreak is the sixth since 2018 alone – the most frequent occurrence in the country’s Ebola history. Previous outbreaks in Equateur Province were in 2020 and 2018, with 130 and 54 recorded cases respectively. ...