The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported an Ebola case in South-Ubangi, a northwestern province bordering the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville, raising concerns about the possible spread of the ongoing outbreak.
Jean-Jacques Muyembe, head of the DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, confirmed that a man tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. The case was identified after laboratory testing of a suspected infection in the Bulu health district.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said “the current outbreak remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak across West Africa, which killed more than 11,325 people, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.”
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South-Ubangi has not yet been officially added to the list of affected provinces because local transmission has not been confirmed. The outbreak, declared on May 15, is already the largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak recorded in the DRC, with 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths reported as of Wednesday.
“The route taken both by the patient and by the boat exposes the populations” of the provinces of North-Ubangi, Tshopo and Mongala, Galekwa said, Thirty-eight people have been identified as having been in contact with the patient and have been placed in quarantine,” he said.
The Bundibugyo strain currently has no approved vaccine or treatment, although several candidates are undergoing testing.
