New Ebola outbreak in Congo kills 65 as officials investigate virus strain

Africa’s top public health agency confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo on Friday, after 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases were recorded in the country’s remote Ituri province.

Health officials are currently investigating whether the outbreak involves the Ebola Zaire strain, the deadliest and best-known version of the virus, or a different variant, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Neighboring Uganda also confirmed an Ebola-related death involving a Congolese man who case officials said was imported from Congo.

The outbreak was concentrated in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones in Eastern Congo, a region close to the borders of Uganda and South Sudan; officials have warned that mining-related travel could become a regional transmission risk due to poor infrastructure and ongoing insecurity.

REPORTING THE EBOLA OUTBREAK IN AFRICAN COUNTRY — HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease that spreads through body fluids, including blood, vomit, and semen. Symptoms may include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal bleeding.

The Africa CDC said only four of the deaths so far have been laboratory confirmed, while testing and sequencing efforts are still determining the exact type of the outbreak.

Initial tests suggested the outbreak may not involve the Ebola Zaire strain responsible for Congo’s devastating 2018-2020 outbreak that killed more than 1,000 people.

UGANDA STARTED CLINICAL VACCINE TRIALS FOR SUDAN’S EBOLA STRAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF NEW OUTBREAK

Health workers walk with a child suspected of having the Ebola virus at a treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on September 9, 2018. (El-Haji Kudra Maliro/AP)

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it sent a response team to the area last week to help local authorities investigate the outbreak and collect samples.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Congo had a “strong track record” of responding to Ebola outbreaks and announced the agency would provide $500,000 in emergency funding to support containment efforts.

Health officials said Congo had stockpiles of Ebola treatments and about 2,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, but officials warned that the vaccine was only effective against the Ebola Zaire strain, not the Sudanese or Bundibugyo variants.

A healthcare worker sprays disinfectant on a colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on September 9, 2018. (El-Haji Kudra Maliro/AP)

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This marks the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in Congo since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.