Suspected Ebola case in DRC a month after end of last outbreak

• A 46-year-old woman who died last week is suspected to have had the Ebola virus.
• The WHO and its health partners are preparing for a potential Ebola outbreak.
• There have been 14 outbreaks of the virus in the DRC since 1976.

Almost two months after the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] reported an end to a two month-long Ebola virus outbreak, there's a new suspected case of the zoonotic disease.

The suspected case is in North Kivu and the country's National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) is testing samples to determine if the patient had contracted Ebola.

In a statement, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the suspected case is that of a 46-year-old woman who died on 15 August 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," it said.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, regional director for Africa said in the past, the WHO and its local partners were preparing for a possible outbreak.

"While the analysis is ongoing, WHO is already on the ground supporting health officials to investigate the case and prepare for a possible outbreak,” she said.

The last Ebola outbreak was the 14th since the disease was first detected near the Ebola River in 1976, with a total of five cases reported from two health zones.

Health officials indicated that another outbreak was certainly on the way, but didn't have the exact timeline.

The most recent case comes a month after Moeti said there has been a sharp increase in zoonotic disease outbreaks in Africa in the last decade, compared to previously.

The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.