The Democratic Republic of Congo is in uncertain times as it faces four new confirmed cases of Ebola, which had been recorded just as they had announced the end of the ninth Ebola outbreak. The Ebola cases were reported as 26 cases of fever were received, each "with hemorrhagic signs."
The Huffington Post reported 20 deaths in Beni, North Kivu, which were tested for signs of the dreaded virus. Of the six samples sent over for Ebola confirmation, four tested positive. It is rather unsurprising for a forested country like Congo, which is home to an equatorial forest. This new case is still being investigated for ties to the Bikoro case, which took 33 lives and infected 54 others.
For a country that has many such cases, it is surprising that new cases and strains are still being discovered. Therapeutic treatments, fortunately, are still available, leftovers from the last case. The Ministry of Health also noted that the Bikoro case was solved using an experimental vaccine from Merck. This vaccine targeted the Ebola strain discovered at Zaire.
Per ABC, all the twenty casualties came from Mangina, a town 30 kilometers southwest of Beni. Health Minister Dr. Oly Ilunga Kalenga said in a statement that they were not expecting the tenth outbreak to happen so soon after the ninth. However, he confessed confidence in their early detection system, which was properly functioning if it managed to detect the virus from happening.
Since 1976, when the first case of the virus was discovered, this had been the tenth and latest outbreak. Compared to other countries, however, this twice as many as had occurred.
An information drive was again disseminated to the public, along with sources where people can contract the virus. It is found in bushmeat which is readily available in Congo markets. Once active in the human system, symptoms include hemorrhagic fever as well as severe vomiting and diarrhea. It can also be transmitted through contact with body fluids of the infected person.
While it is already a challenge to contain the virus, the present situation in Beni and the North Kivu province complicates things further. Presently, the region is stuck in a cycle of violence and unrest. Since then, however, travel to and from Mangina had been disallowed.
