{"id":671782,"date":"2026-05-15T19:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/671782\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T19:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:15:08","slug":"africa-cdc-confirms-new-ebola-outbreak-in-remote-congo-province","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/671782\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa CDC confirms new Ebola outbreak in remote Congo province"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) \u2014 Africa\u2019s top public health body on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak<\/a> in Congo\u2019s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far. Uganda later reported one death in an Ebola case it said was imported from neighboring Congo. <\/p>\n

The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The Ebola virus<\/a> is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation,\u201d the agency said, referring to the capital of Ituri province, near the border with Uganda.<\/p>\n

It said preliminary laboratory results had detected the Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples. The results suggest some strain of the illness other than the Ebola Zaire strain, with sequencing continuing to give more clarity, the agency said. The Ebola Zaire strain has been prominent in Congo\u2019s past outbreaks.<\/p>\n

Uganda on Friday reported one Ebola case involving a Congolese man admitted to a hospital in Kampala three days before he died. Officials said the case was \u201cimported\u201d from Congo, and that Uganda has not yet confirmed any local cases.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Uganda\u2019s Health Ministry said samples taken from the patient were tested posthumously on Friday after neighboring Congo confirmed an Ebola outbreak, and that the tests confirmed that the patient had Ebola. All contacts linked to the man have been quarantined, including a high-risk contact who is a close relative of the deceased, the agency said. The deceased\u2019s body has been taken back to Congo.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization said last year that Congo has a stockpile of treatments and some 2,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine. However, the vaccine is effective against the Ebola Zaire strain, it said. <\/p>\n

The Africa CDC said results confirming the strain in the new outbreak are expected within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization director-general, told reporters Friday that the WHO last week sent a team to help Congo investigate the outbreak and collect samples. While initial results did not confirm Ebola, a new analysis on Thursday did, he said. <\/p>\n

Congo has \u201ca strong track record in Ebola response and control,\u201d Tedros said, adding that the WHO is releasing $500,000 to aid Congo\u2019s response. <\/p>\n

Affected areas are close to Uganda, South Sudan borders<\/p>\n

The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo\u2019s last Ebola outbreak was declared over<\/a> after 43 deaths.<\/p>\n

Ituri is in a remote eastern part of Congo characterized by poor road networks, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nation\u2019s capital of Kinshasa.<\/p>\n

Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing and control challenges.<\/p>\n

The proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan also raises concerns, it said.<\/p>\n

The agency said it is convening an urgent coordination meeting Friday with health authorities from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, together with key partners including U.N. agencies and other countries. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe meeting will focus on immediate response priorities, cross-border coordination, surveillance, laboratory support, infection prevention and control, risk communication, safe and dignified burials, and resource mobilization,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Congo has seen more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks<\/p>\n

This is the 17th outbreak in Congo since the disease first emerged in the country in 1976. An Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo<\/a> killed more than 1,000 people. The WHO said that outbreak was characterized by the Ebola Zaire strain.<\/p>\n

An earlier outbreak that swept across West Africa from 2014 to 2016 also killed more than 11,000 people.<\/p>\n

The new outbreak will create more worry for the Central African country, which has been battling various armed groups in the east, including the M23 rebel group, which launched a rapid assault in January<\/a> last year and has since occupied key cities.<\/p>\n

Ituri in particular is also battling violence from the Allied Democratic Force, an Islamic State-linked militant group which has killed dozens there and in other parts of the east.<\/p>\n

Congo, Africa\u2019s second-largest country by land area, often faces logistical challenges in responding to disease outbreaks. During last year\u2019s outbreak, which lasted three months, the World Health Organization initially faced significant challenges<\/a> in delivering vaccines due to limited access and scarce funds.<\/p>\n

Dr. Gabriel Nsakala, a professor of public health who has been involved in past Ebola outbreak responses in Congo, said the country and health workers on the ground have a high level of experience, in addition to existing infrastructure such as laboratories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of training, people already know what they can do. Now, the expertise and equipment need to be delivered quickly,\u201d Nsakala added.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria; Saleh Mwanamilongo in Bonn, Germany; Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal; and Mike Stobbe in New York City contributed.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

For more on Africa and development: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/africa-pulse<\/a><\/p>\n

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KINSHASA, Congo (AP) \u2014 Africa\u2019s top public health body on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[5684,2843,49,48,17521,70194,70195,247341,2841,84,31185,377,2727,4075,16119,883],"class_list":["post-671782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-africa","tag-ap-top-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention","tag-democratic-republic-of-congo","tag-democratic-republic-of-the-congo","tag-gabriel-nsakala","tag-general-news","tag-health","tag-immunizations","tag-medication","tag-public-health","tag-uganda","tag-world-health-organization","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}