MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2021) The number of cases of Ebola fever in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached five, with three of the patients dying since the start of the new outbreak, according to the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The new outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever began in the city of Beni in the province of North Kivu, where the first case of infection was recorded in early October. Ebola vaccinations began in the country last week.
"UPDATE: #Ebola in #DRC Situation Report (18/10/21): 5 confirmed cases, 3 deaths, 386 contacts identified, 322 contacts monitored," the regional WHO office tweeted.
So far, 116 people have been vaccinated in the country, including 24 frontline health workers, the organization added.
The DRC authorities announced the end of the twelfth Ebola outbreak in the country in early May. The last time, the fever claimed the lives of at least six people over four months.
Ebola is an acute viral infection that affects humans and some other species of animals. The Ebola epidemic broke out in West Africa in 2015, with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia becoming the epicenter of the outbreak. According to the WHO, during the last major epidemic 28,600 people were infected with Ebola, and more than 11,300 of them died.
