Following the confirmation of a case in the eastern province of North-Kivu, the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have proclaimed a resurgence of the Ebola virus.
In the town of Beni last week, a woman passed away. This year’s outbreak is the second to hit the nation; the first was declared over in July.
The authorities in North-Kivu have already stopped multiple outbreaks of the fatal virus, and the WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, expressed confidence that they would quickly bring this one under control.
“Analyses showed that the case was genetically linked to the 2018-2020 outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces- the country’s longest and largest,” the statement read.
At least 131 contacts of the woman have been identified including 60 front-line healthcare workers, 59 of whom are vaccinated against Ebola.
The country has recorded 14 outbreaks since 1976. The 2018-2020 outbreak in the east was Congo’s largest and the second largest ever recorded, with nearly 3,500 total cases.