DR Congo reports one suspected Ebola case - WHO

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are investigating a case suspected of Ebola virus disease, in the country’s northeastern province of North Kivu, as DRC’s latest Ebola epidemic was declared over in early July, said the World Health Organization (WHO) regional office for Africa via a statement Saturday.

The suspected case was a 46-year-old woman who died on Aug. 15 in Beni, a town in North Kivu. The case received care at the Beni Referral Hospital, initially for other ailments, but subsequently, exhibited symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease, said the statement, noting that the country’s National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) is in the process of testing samples to determine if the patient contracted Ebola.

“While the analysis is ongoing, WHO is already on the ground supporting health officials, to investigate the case and prepare for a possible outbreak,” said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

On July 4, the DRC officially declared an end to the latest Ebola outbreak that erupted less than three months ago in Mbandaka, the capital of the northwestern Equateur Province. There were four confirmed cases and one probable case, all of whom died, in the latest outbreak. It was the third outbreak in the province since 2018 and the country’s 14th overall.