Congo’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak reaches a sixth province
- Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province after a death was recorded in Bas-Uele province, which had previously not been affected.
- The man who died in Buta, the capital of Bas-Uele, had traveled there from Isiro in Haut-Uele province, according to Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya.
- Jean-Jacques Muyembe said the man was a motorcycle-taxi driver who had sought treatment at several hospitals before he died.
- Muyembe said the man’s colleagues tried to forcibly take his body, prompting police intervention and raising concerns that more people may have been exposed.
- The World Health Organization said the outbreak in eastern Congo is the fastest-growing yet and could surpass the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.
- Congo’s latest government figures put the toll at more than 2,100 deaths from more than 4,500 cases, and there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus causing the outbreak.
Congo’s Ebola outbreak has now reached a sixth province after a death was reported in Bas-Uele, a province that had not previously been affected. The death occurred in Buta, the provincial capital, after the patient traveled there from Isiro in nearby Haut-Uele province.
Jean Kaseya, the director general of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said the deceased man had been a motorcycle-taxi driver. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, who heads Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, said the man had sought care at several hospitals before dying.
Muyembe also said the man’s colleagues tried to take the body by force, which led to police intervention and raised concerns that others may have been exposed to the virus. The spread to a new province adds to an outbreak that health authorities say is moving quickly through eastern Congo.
The World Health Organization said Wednesday that the outbreak is the fastest-growing ever seen in the country and is on track to surpass the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history. Congo’s latest government figures put the toll at more than 2,100 deaths from more than 4,500 cases, and there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus behind the current outbreak.
刚果埃博拉疫情扩散至第六个省
刚果的埃博拉疫情已扩散到第六个省份，巴-于埃勒省报告了一例死亡病例。该省此前未受影响，死者是在省会布塔去世的，此前他曾从邻近的上于埃勒省伊西罗前往当地。
非洲疾控中心总干事让·卡塞亚说，死者是一名摩托车出租车司机。刚果国家生物医学研究所负责人让-雅克·穆延贝表示，这名男子在死亡前曾到多家医院求医。
穆延贝还说，死者的同伴曾试图强行带走遗体，警方随后介入，此事也引发了对更多人可能接触病毒的担忧。疫情扩散到新的省份，进一步显示疫情正在刚果东部迅速蔓延。
世界卫生组织周三表示，这次疫情是刚果有记录以来增长最快的一次，按当前趋势可能超过历史上最致命的埃博拉疫情。刚果政府最新数据显示，疫情已造成2100多人死亡、病例超过4500例，而目前没有获批的疫苗或治疗手段可用于引发本次疫情的Bundibugyo病毒。