Daijiworld Media Network - Kinshasa
Kinshasa, Oct 14: Two Ebola cases have been reported in Nord-Ubangi Province in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), raising concerns that the outbreak may have spread to an eighth province, a former health minister said on Wednesday.
Jean-Jacques Mbungani Mbanda, a former DRC health minister and current member of parliament, said in a social media post that repeated tests conducted at the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa had confirmed the two infections.
He said the country's health ministry was expected to issue an official statement shortly. The cases have not yet been formally announced by health authorities, Xinhua news agency reported.
The DRC has recorded more than 9,000 confirmed Ebola cases since May, as preparations for a vaccine trial near completion.
According to a situation report released by the country's Ebola task force on Tuesday, 9,066 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths had been recorded as of October 11. The overall case fatality rate stood at 48.3 per cent, while 2,389 patients had recovered.
The outbreak has affected 65 health zones across seven provinces. The eastern province of Ituri remains the epicentre, accounting for 73.8 per cent of all confirmed cases. North Kivu Province has recorded the highest case fatality rate at 57.1 per cent.
Earlier this month, DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said the outbreak was becoming increasingly localised, with several affected health zones reporting no new cases for weeks.
However, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on October 7 that while the epidemic was slowing in some areas, it continued to grow in others. He also highlighted persistent challenges, including a high proportion of deaths occurring in communities and gaps in contact tracing.
Caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, the current outbreak is the deadliest ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally, after the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.
No vaccine or treatment has yet been specifically approved for the Bundibugyo strain, although clinical trials are underway. Ervebo, a vaccine approved against the Zaire ebolavirus, is being administered to frontline health workers under research protocols and through compassionate-use arrangements.