Death Toll In DR Congo Ebola Outbreak Now At 27

Health Workers Combating Ebola (File Photo)

The Ministry of Heath in the Democratic Republic of Congo have disclosed that the death toll from Ebola has risen to 27,  after a death was recorded in a city on the front line of the outbreak.

The death occurred in Wangata, a district of Mbandaka, and it involved a person confirmed by lab tests as having the viral disease the ministry said in a press release.

The ministry revealed that 51 cases since the outbreak was declared on May 8, 28 of these cases have been confirmed, 21 are probable and two are suspected.

Ebola, one of the world’s most notorious diseases, is a virus-caused haemorrhagic fever that in extreme cases leads to fatal bleeding from internal organs, the mouth, eyes or ears.

Last week, the first case was reported in Mbandaka, an event that attracted international concern.

Punch Report that the health authorities on Monday began administering a prototype vaccine to a small number of health workers in Mbandaka, as part of the campaign to contain and roll back the disease.

The immunisation team will follow suit on Saturday in Bikoro, vaccinating more than 600 people in all for the first phase of the operation.

The outbreak is the ninth in the DRC since the disease was first identified in 1976. It was named after a Congolese river where the first cases were recorded. The last outbreak was in 2017, and was rapidly curtailed with four deaths.