Ebola death toll rises to 12 in Congo

KINSHASA, Congo — Another person has died in Congo of a confirmed case of Ebola, bringing the number of fatalities from the latest outbreak to 12, the country’s Health Ministry said Sunday.

The death happened in Iboko, a rural area in northwestern Equateur Province, the ministry said in a statement. There are also four new suspected cases in the province, the statement reported.

Congo now has 35 confirmed Ebola cases.

Health workers have identified people who have been in contact with the patients in the confirmed Ebola cases in three areas in Equateur Province, Iboko, rural Bikoro and Mbandaka, the provincial capital of 1.2 million that is a transport hub on the Congo River.

Representatives of the World Health Organization and UNICEF accompanied the health minister.

The vaccination campaign is already underway in Mbandaka, where four Ebola cases have been confirmed. About 100 health workers have been vaccinated there as front-line workers face high risk from the virus, which is spread via contact with the bodily fluids of those infected, including the dead. AP

Naysha Lopez (far right) is thankful to Mount Sinai nurse Evelyn Sotomayor (near right), who helped save her life and inspired her to become a doctor. Sotomayor ignores what she was told in nursing school about patients being just clients.