The Democratic Republic of Congo has been hit by new Ebola outbreak with officials on Tuesday saying that two new cases were detected in the country’s north-west region.
17 people are reported to have died from the latest outbreak in the town of Bikoro, according to the country’s health ministry.
Over 11,000 people died from the deadly virus in 2014 when it hit West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
DRC in the central part of the continent is recording the latest cases of the virus after over a year since the outbreak killed four people.
The World Health Organization (WHO), has in a statement said that the latest confirmation was made after laboratory test results confirmed the two cases out of a sample of five suspected patients.
“Working with partners and responding early and in a co-ordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease,” the WHO statement added.
$1m has now been released by the WHO to support DRC contain the latest outbreak with more than 50 experts deployed to help health officials in the country.
The Virus which is transmitted by bats was first discovered in DRC in 1976 and named after the Ebola river.
Source: Africafeeds.com
