DR Congo records four fresh cases of Ebola

Four new cases of Ebola have been detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two days after the country reported a fresh outbreak of the disease.

Of the four affected persons, two are caregivers at the hospital in Bikoro where the Ebola outbreak has been concentrated, Serge Ngalebato, the hospital’s chief surgeon, said.

The latest Ebola outbreak in the northwest of Kinshasa near the border shared with the Republic of Congo has so far killed 17 people.

The World Health Organisation has made $1 million available to stop the virus from spreading to other provinces and countries, a representative of the UN’s humanitarian affairs agency OCHA told reporters.

Isaac Adewole, Nigeria’s minister of health, on Wednesday disclosed that the federal government had put in place an emergency programme to monitor all border activity to keep Nigerians safe.

Nigeria, which does not share a border with DR Congo, is the only country in West Africa with a mobile laboratory for haemorrhagic fevers.

DR Congo authorities on Tuesday described the Ebola outbreak as a “public health emergency with international impact”.

It is the country’s ninth known outbreak of Ebola since 1976 when the deadly viral disease was first identified in Zaire by a Belgian-led team.