By Jerry Omondi
A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, the National Institute of Biomedical Research said on Saturday.
This is the latest flare up of the deadly disease, and it comes just four months since the end of the last outbreak.
The case recorded on Saturday was detected in a 31-year-old male in the city of Mbandaka, the capital of Congo’s Equateur province.
The patient is reported to have started experiencing symptoms on April 5, but did not seek treatment for more than a week.
On April 21, he was admitted to an Ebola treatment center for intensive care but died later that night.
Upon his death, healthcare workers took samples for laboratory testing.
Investigations to determine the source of the outbreak are ongoing.
“Time is not on our side,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “The disease has taken a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up. The good news is that health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have more experience than anyone else in the world in rapidly controlling Ebola outbreaks.”
The WHO official noted that many people in Mbandaka are already vaccinated against Ebola, and that should help reduce the impact of the disease.
