The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This Ebola crisis has claimed the lives of 42 people out of the 64 cases so far according to the latest situation report from the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region.
According to report, as of 28 September, 53 confirmed and 11 probable cases had been noted and recorded in Bulape Health Zone, Kasai Province, with a case fatality ratio of 65.6 per cent.
The WHO also confirmed that the outbreak remains restricted to six of the 21 health areas in the zone, adding that five healthcare workers are among those infected, three of whom have died.
According the the WHO, women and children are bearing the brunt of the disaster, with females accounting for 57.1 per cent of cases and more than half of the outlined death cases, while children under 10 represent 31 per cent of fatalities.
The WHO estimates a risk of further spread as high on a national level but moderate in the wider region, says the outbreak is powered by lack of protective equipment, as well as incomplete contact tracing, late detection and unsafe burial practices.
It stated that high population mobility in a country of more than 100 million, plus a reliance on traditional healers, increased the risk of spread.
It added that cases so far range in age from newborns to 65 years.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) recently issued a new advisory after two suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever in Abuja tested negative for Ebola and Marburg viruses.
