{"id":724,"date":"2026-05-15T13:23:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=724"},"modified":"2026-05-15T13:23:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:23:01","slug":"a-new-ebola-outbreak-is-confirmed-in-a-remote-congo-province-with-65-deaths-recorded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=724","title":{"rendered":"A new Ebola outbreak is confirmed in a remote Congo province, with 65 deaths recorded"},"content":{"rendered":"

Health workers walk with a boy suspected of having the Ebola virus at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, Sept 9, 2018. (AP Photo\/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro, File)<\/small><\/p>\n

2026-05-15T07:11:15Z<\/p>\n

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) \u2014 Africa\u2019s top public health body on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak<\/a><\/span> in Congo\u2019s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far.<\/p>\n

The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The Ebola virus<\/a><\/span> is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation,\u201d the agency said, referring to the capital of Ituri province, near the border with Uganda.<\/p>\n

It said preliminary laboratory results had detected the Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples. The results suggest a non-Ebola Zaire strain of the virus with sequencing ongoing to further characterize the strain, the agency said. The Ebola Zaire strain has been prominent in Congo\u2019s past outbreaks.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization said last year that Congo has a stockpile of treatments and some 2,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine, However, the vaccine is effective against the Ebola Zaire strain of the virus, it said.<\/p>\n

The Africa CDC said results confirming the strain in the new outbreak are expected within the 24 hours.<\/p>\n

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