No fewer than 80 persons have died from a fresh outbreak of Ebola virus in at least three health zones, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to data from the World Health Organisation on Sunday.
This is as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement by its Director General, Jide Idris, on Sunday, said it has increased its surveillance of the disease.
The 17th outbreak in Congo, where Ebola was first identified in 1976, could in fact be much larger, given the high positivity rate of the initial samples and increasing number of suspected cases being reported, the WHO said.
The health organisation described Congo’s outbreak as “extraordinary” as there are no approved Bundibugyo virus-specific therapeutics or vaccines, unlike for Ebola-Zaire strains.
All but one of the country’s previous outbreaks were caused by the Zaire strain.
The DRC’s dense tropical forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus.
Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Jean Kaseya, said in a statement that he had requested technical guidance and recommendations on the potential need to declare the outbreak a ?public health emergency of continental security.
