Africa's top health agency has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri province. Around 246 cases and 65 deaths have been reported, mainly in the areas of Mongwalu and Rwampara, said the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa). Four of the deaths were among lab-confirmed cases.
CDC Africa is convening a meeting with the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, and international partners to discuss response efforts and cross-border surveillance. Preliminary tests at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale in Kinshasa detected the virus in 13 of 20 samples. Additional suspected cases have been reported in Bunia, the provincial capital, with lab confirmation pending.
Ebola is a deadly viral disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, causing severe bleeding and organ failure. First identified in 1976 in what is now the DRC, the virus is thought to have passed to humans from bats. There is no cure, and symptoms include fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, and sore throat. The DRC's deadliest outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people.