Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed a new Ebola outbreak after a laboratory test verified a case in southern Kasai province. So far, officials report 28 suspected infections and 15 deaths, making this the country’s 16th recorded Ebola outbreak.
Health workers say the confirmed patient is a 34 year old pregnant woman who was admitted to hospital in August with fever and persistent vomiting. Investigations, contact tracing, and further testing are ongoing to determine the full level of the outbreak.
Congo has a long history of fighting Ebola, having declared the end of its last outbreak that occured in September 2022 in North Kivu, and previously dealing with crises in Kasai, including a notable occasion that happened in 2007. Standard response efforts usually involve isolating cases, conducting safe and dignified burials, and quickly deploying surveillance teams.
If the current outbreak is confirmed to be caused by the Zaire ebolavirus strain, health officials are prepared to roll out ring vaccination using Merck’s Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV). The vaccine, which is licensed in the DRC and stocked worldwide for emergencies, has already been used extensively in the region, with hundreds of thousands vaccinated during past outbreaks.
