The deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo is fast spreading to other parts of the country with new cases recorded in the northwest city of Mbandaka for the first time.
Health minister of the central African country, Oly Ilunga Kalenga said on Wednesday in a statement that “We are entering a new phase of the Ebola outbreak that is now affecting three health zones, including an urban health zone.”
The outbreak in a region with a population of about 1 million people worries health officials with the health minister further saying in the statement that “Since the announcement of the alert in Mbandaka, our epidemiologists are working in the field to identify people who have been in contact with suspected cases.”
Experimental Ebola vaccines have now arrived in the country to enable health officials combat the spread of the virus.
The vaccines were sent to Kinshasa by the World Health Organisation and health officials have said that vaccination would start during the weekend.
4,000 doses of the vaccine are to be deployed to ensure that the outbreak is contained. 20 deaths have been recorded so far with the WHO on Monday saying 39 cases of the virus have been recorded between April 4 and May 13, including the 20 deaths.
Over 11,000 people died from the deadly virus in 2014 when it hit West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
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
