Ebola death raises fear in Congo

Deceased was 2nd confirmed case in major city of Goma

KINSHASA, Congo — The man who became the second confirmed Ebola case in Congo’s major city of Goma has died, officials said Wednesday, adding that he may never have known he had the virus.

The case renewed fears in the bustling city on the Rwandan border, which has an international airport, and complicated efforts to contain a yearlong outbreak already challenged by rebel attacks and community mistrust.

The man in his 40s was a miner returning home from northeastern Ituri province where no Ebola cases in this outbreak have been recorded, World Health Organization officials told reporters. He could have been exposed to Ebola anywhere between Komanda and Goma, a city of more than 2 million people, as he took motor taxis over a number of days through the densely populated region at the heart of the outbreak, WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said.

The man arrived in Goma on July 13 and started showing symptoms on July 22. He was isolated at an Ebola treatment center on Tuesday. He had spent five days being treated at home and then went to a health facility, where Ebola was suspected.

“He may not even have been aware of the exposure that he had,” Ryan said, adding that the man’s potential contacts were being identified and given an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine. Symptoms such as fever can be confused with malaria, which is endemic in the region.

More than 1,700 people have been killed in this outbreak declared on Aug. 1, 2018.