An Ebola outbreak is erupting again in Congo – this time in an active war zone
The battle to contain the disease will be costly and complex as it spreads in refugee camps and cities in northwestern Congo
Just one week after an outbreak of the Ebola virus was extinguished in northwestern Congo, a new one was declared in the country’s conflict-hit northeast. This is Congo’s 10th Ebola outbreak since the 1970s, and some health officials are worried it might be the hardest to contain.
The new outbreak is centred on a thickly populated stretch of Congo’s eastern border with Uganda – an area that is also the epicentre of decades-long clashes between dozens of militias that have forced millions into squalid refugee camps.
At least 43 people are believed to have been infected in North Kivu province, including 36 who have died, Congo’s health ministry said on Tuesday. Sixteen of the cases were confirmed to be Ebola.
While Congo has experienced the most outbreaks of the Ebola virus, this is the first time it has cropped up in this part of the country. Lab tests have confirmed that it is the same strain as the previous outbreak, which started in early May, but there is no indication the outbreaks are related.
“We are still in the early days, and there are lots of unanswered questions,” said Peter Salama, the World Health Organisation’s head of emergency response. “But we are expecting this one to be significantly more costly and complex than the last.”