Another Ebola outbreak strikes Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s health ministry reported over the weekend there are 13 confirmed cases and three confirmed deaths in the country’s latest Ebola outbreak. Health ministry officials said the latest cases were detected in Ituri and North Kivu provinces. The ministry also identified 30 probable cases and 33 other suspected cases currently under investigation, recording 33 overall deaths that could be related to the epidemic.

The latest incidence of the disease started on Wednesday, one week after the health ministry declared the end of an outbreak in the country’s northwest region that killed 33 people. The World Health Organization warned that the current outbreak comes as North Kivu remains a “war zone” with armed groups and thousands of displaced people. The town of Beni, which has three confirmed cases, serves as a major trade border town with Uganda and Rwanda. Peter Salama, the head of emergencies at WHO, said the security situation and cross-border movement stand as “complicating factors” to their response to the latest outbreak.