KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province after a death was recorded in the previously unaffected Bas-Uele province, the head of Africa's CDC said Thursday.
The outbreak in eastern Congo, which has killed more than 3,000 people, is on track to become the second deadliest in history, the World Health Organization said.
Its spread to the new province comes as the country grapples with a deadly epidemic, which has infected over 5,000 people and claimed more than 2,000 lives.
This is the latest in a string of outbreaks in eastern Congo that have been complicated by armed groups, a lack of trust in health workers, and a lack of access to basic health care.
Bas-Uele is a vast province in northeastern Congo that borders the Central African Republic.
About half of Congo’s outbreaks have been concentrated in Ituri province, the WHO said.
Health workers in the affected areas have been attacked by some armed groups, and others have been accused of spreading misinformation about the outbreak.
Health officials say that about 80% of all cases are concentrated in the four provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika.
Health workers are urging people to be vigilant and to report any suspected cases of Ebola to health authorities.
"We need to pay the vaccine health workers," he told reporters. "This is the reality of the outbreak, not politics.
And they told us the money is unavailable."
"We are in a race against time," the WHO special representative for Congo, Dr. Mamadou Sakho, said this week. "And when you are in a race against time, you have to make difficult decisions to save lives."
WHO also plans to alert the relevant Ebola control areas about potential outbreaks caused by Ebola-like symptoms.
"We are in a race against time," he said. "And when you are in a race against time, you have to make difficult decisions to save lives."
"We are in a race against time," he said. "And when you are in a race against time, you have to make difficult decisions to save lives."
Clinical features
Ebola is a rare but deadly disease that can be transmitted to people from wild animals and then spreads between people through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people and with contaminated environments such as bedding and clothing.
All of the five known Ebola epidemics for this type of Congo have been concentrated in North Kivu where cases have been concentrated.
WHO also plans to alert the relevant Ebola control areas about potential outbreaks caused by Ebola-like symptoms.
"We are in a race against time," he said. "And when you are in a race against time, you have to make difficult decisions to save lives."
