Ebola Outbreak Expands in DR Congo
The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to new communities, including a densely populated displacement camp, raising concerns about a wider transmission of the disease.
The outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, was declared on May 15 and has so far recorded 689 confirmed cases and 139 deaths, according to government figures.
The disease is centred in Ituri Province, with additional cases reported in North Kivu and South Kivu.
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The World Health Organization said a further 119 suspected cases are under investigation.
WHO’s head of epidemiology and analytics, Olivier le Polain, warned that new infections are being detected in additional health zones almost daily, suggesting the outbreak may be more widespread than current figures indicate.
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He attributed the growing spread to the high mobility of the population and warned that the scale of the outbreak could be much larger than what has been officially recorded.