Just as the world is coming to terms with the Coronavirus, health authorities have reported a simultaneous wave of the deadly Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to a report by Reuters, the new outbreaks occured in the city of Mbandaka in western Congo, adding to an earlier outbreak of the virus in the east of the country.
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Mbandaka is a popular commercial city on the banks of the Congo river with approximately 1.5 million inhabitants and transport links to the capital, Kinshasa.
Six cases were detected in the city, with four of the infected already dead at the time of the report.
An ongoing outbreak in North Kivu, near the border with Uganda had already killed 2,200 people. Government efforts at containing the outbreak there has been hampered by armed conflict.
“We have a new Ebola epidemic in Mbandaka. We are going to very quickly send them the vaccine and medicine.” Health Minister Eteni Longondo announced on Monday
The Republic of Congo has suffered three major Ebola outbreaks since 2017. It is also battling a major measels epidemic which has killed over 6,000 as well as COVID-19 which has infected 3,000 and killed 71 people.
The Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever and is spread through direct contact with the body fluids of an Infected person.
“This outbreak is a reminder that #COVID19 is not the only health threat people face,” the Director General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted in reaction.