55 people have so far been killed from the latest Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo, according to health officials.
New details of the outbreak released on Monday showed that the death toll continues to rise.
The government is now planning to roll out free treatment against the disease for the next three months.
Dr. Bathe Ndjoloko Tambwe who is in charge of coordinating the fight against the disease says the free treatment is to “remove the financial barrier that could dissuade the population from going to the health centre.”
The Mabalako-Mangina community close to Beni, in the North Kivu province is now the epicentre of the outbreak.
“91 cases of haemorrhagic fever were reported in the region, 64 of which had been confirmed and 27 were seen as probable,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already said that the ongoing militia violence is also threatening the fight against the outbreak.
It says militia violence has prevented aid workers from reaching people who may have been infected by the virus.
The experimental mAb114 Ebola treatment is being used for the first time as the deadly virus continues to spread.
But efforts to reach those in dire need of the treatment has been hampered. Ebola leads to internal and external bleeding which can cause damage done to blood vessels.
The virus which is transmitted by bats was first discovered in DRC in 1976 and named after the Ebola river.
Source: Africafeeds.com
