The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded five cases of Ebola virus illness in the country’s northwestern region, as part of the newest epidemic.
Since the start of the 14th epidemic, which was proclaimed in late April in the northern province of Equateur, five cases of Ebola virus illness had been recorded, including four confirmed cases, the WHO office tweeted on Saturday, emphasizing that all five patients had died.
234 contacts have been discovered and are being monitored, while 1,013 people have been vaccinated, including frontline workers.
After more than a week of at-home therapy, Patient Zero, a 31-year-old man, began to experience symptoms on April 5th and sought medical help at a local health facility. According to local health officials, the patient was brought to an Ebola health clinic on April 21 for emergency surgery, but died later that day.
Since 1976, the DRC has seen 14 Ebola outbreaks. This is the sixth Ebola epidemic in the country in as many years, making it the most widespread in history.
According to the WHO office, previous epidemics in Equateur Province came in 2020 and 2018, with 130 and 54 cases identified, respectively.
In December 2021, the Democratic Republic of Congo made the announcement of its 13th Ebola epidemic in the northeastern North Kivu region, which had brought in eight documented and three potential diagnoses, as well as six fatalities.