Congo: 198 Ebola deaths worst outbreak in country’s history

KINSHASA, Congo — Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak is the worst in the country’s recorded history with 319 confirmed and probable cases, the health ministry said.

The virus has killed 198 people since the outbreak was declared Aug. 1 in the volatile east, the ministry said. Those dead include 163 confirmed Ebola cases, with 35 probable deaths. Nearly 100 people have survived Ebola.

This is Congo’s 10th outbreak since 1976, when the hemorrhagic fever was first identified in Yambuku, in the Equateur province, the ministry said.

Armed groups vying for control of Congo’s mineral-rich east have staged regular attacks in Congo’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces, complicating the response by health officials who are also meeting community resistance.