Alarmed by a fresh Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says it is tracking the situation closely and mobilizing support. The agency is coordinating with national authorities and partners to mount a rapid, unified response as officials race to contain the spread.
Early testing by the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) detected Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples, with preliminary findings pointing to a non-Zaire ebolavirus strain. Sequencing is in progress to pinpoint the variant. Health authorities have tallied about 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths, concentrated in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones; four deaths have occurred among laboratory-confirmed cases. Additional suspected infections have been noted in Bunia and are awaiting confirmation.
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Africa CDC warns that the likelihood of wider transmission is heightened by several factors: the urban settings of Bunia and Rwampara, heavy population movements, mining-related mobility around Mongwalu, insecurity that hampers field operations, gaps in contact tracing, infection prevention and control challenges, and the close proximity of the affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan.
