A fresh outbreak of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with health authorities reporting dozens of deaths and hundreds of suspected infections.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) disclosed on Friday that the outbreak has so far recorded about 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths, including at least four fatalities among laboratory-confirmed patients.
The agency confirmed that the outbreak is concentrated in Ituri Province and said it is coordinating urgent regional and international responses with countries including the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan. The aim, it added, is to strengthen cross-border surveillance, preparedness, and containment efforts.
Ebola Virus Disease, first identified in 1976 and believed to have originated from animal-to-human transmission, spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. The disease is highly infectious and often leads to severe internal bleeding and organ failure. Over the past five decades, it has claimed about 15,000 lives across Africa, with the 2018–2020 outbreak in the DRC alone killing nearly 2,300 people.
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