A new case of Ebola has been detected in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), increasing the total number of confirmed cases to three since the country’s 14th Ebola epidemic was declared in late April. This is according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Congolese Health Ministry confirmed the third Ebola case in Mbandaka on Thursday, May 5.
According to the WHO Regional Office for Africa, the 48-year-old male was a high-risk contact in the first case.
It went on to say that 444 contact cases had been discovered.
The DRC declared its 14th Ebola epidemic on April 23 after the first case was confirmed in Mbandaka, the seat of Equateur Province in northern DRC.
The first two confirmed instances, both of whom were family, died shortly after exhibiting symptoms.
DRC is experiencing its 14th Ebola outbreak since 1976.
The current epidemic is the country’s sixth since 2018, making it the most frequent in Ebola history.
According to WHO, previous outbreaks in Equateur Province occurred in 2020 and 2018, with 130 and 54 reported cases, respectively.
In December 2021, the Democratic Republic of Congo declared the end of its 13th Ebola outbreak, which had resulted in eight confirmed and three probable cases, as well as six deaths, in the northeastern North Kivu Province.
