Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have declared a new outbreak of the Ebola virus, with 15 deaths and 28 suspected cases since late August.
The outbreak is in central Kasai Province, the Congolese health ministry said on Thursday.
The first case was reported on 20 August in a 34-year-old pregnant woman who was admitted to hospital with signs of haemorrhagic fever. She died a few hours later from organ failure.
"It's the 16th outbreak recorded in our country," health minister Samuel Roger Kamba said.
The last struck the Equateur Province in the north-east of the country in April 2022, killing six people before being brought under control in less than three months.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has dispatched experts alongside a Congolese rapid response team to Kasai Province. "We're acting with determination to rapidly halt the spread of the virus and protect communities," said WHO's Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi.
Four health workers were among the 15 people who had died, the WHO said.
"Case numbers are likely to increase as the transmission is ongoing. 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," the WHO added in a statement.
The DRC has a stockpile of treatments for this viral haemorrhagic fever, including 2,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine that is "effective to protect against this type of Ebola, the global health body said.
Ebola: Profile of a dreaded killer
Zaire strain identified
Six strains of Ebola exist. Health authorities say the Zaire strain is the cause of the new outbreak.
"Fortunately we have a vaccine for this Zaire strain but to deploy it we need to ensure the logistics," Kamba said.
First identified in 1976 and thought to have crossed over from bats, Ebola is a deadly viral disease transmitted from person to person through contact with infected bodily fluids, such as blood and vomit. It causes severe bleeding and organ failure.
The deadliest outbreak in the DRC – whose population numbers more than 100 million – killed nearly 2,300 people between 2018 and 2020.
Four times the size of France, the DRC has poor infrastructure, with often limited and poorly maintained lines of communication.
(with newswires)
