Ebola kills 33 in Congo

GOMA: The latest Ebola outbreak in Congo has grown to at least 43 cases of infection, including 33 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Of the 43 cases, 30 are probable, while another 13 have been confirmed as Ebola, the WHO said in a statement on Saturday.

An additional 33 suspected cases are currently undergoing tests. Three health workers have been infected with the virus, two of whom have died, the WHO said.

The UN health body warned that the outbreak is occurring in a conflict zone in the eastern part of the country, which could complicate efforts to stem the virus.

The affected area, found in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces, hosts over a million displaced people and borders Rwanda and Uganda.

The Congolese health ministry will distribute a vaccine to the affected areas and several rapid response medical teams have already been dispatched to the city of Beni and the epicentre of the current outbreak, Mangina, the ministry said in a statement.

The new outbreak was identified after a 65-year-old woman died from the highly infectious disease.

Family members who buried her did not follow proper health guidelines and seven relatives soon fell ill and died, the ministry said.

The new outbreak was made public only days after July 24, when Congo declared the previous Ebola outbreak to be over.

That outbreak killed 33 people since May in the western Equator Province. There is no evidence that the two outbreaks are related, the WHO said.

During the last outbreak, the WHO rolled out an immunisation campaign, which made more than 7,500 vaccine doses available in an effort to stem the spread of the disease.