New Congolese health zone affected by Ebola as infections surge

James Tasamba

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a new health zone in Tshopo province, officials said Saturday, amid surging new infections.

Confirmed cases have reached 4,727, including 2,214 deaths, according to a Health Ministry update.

It said the outbreak has affected 55 health zones in six provinces — Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tshopo.

A new health zone in Tshopo brings the affected zones in the particular province to seven.

A total of 749 patients are in isolation or in a hospital, while 976 have recovered.

Congo formally declared the outbreak on May 15, but the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said studies suggest that transmission may have begun in February.

The virus response this week faced renewed challenges in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, after a treatment center was temporarily closed because of a strike by health workers for delayed salaries.

The UN Humanitarian Affairs chief Tom Fletcher said Friday that the epidemic is killing someone every 30 minutes.

“Ebola is winning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” he said. “We cannot let the virus outrun our response.”

Fletcher announced that he allocated an additional $30.5 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund — building on the $24 million previously allocated to Congo and its neighbors to tackle the outbreak.

The Congolese government has mobilized $50 million for the Ebola response, according to Health Minister Roger Kamba.