Ebola case detected in seventh DR Congo province

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Ebola has been detected in South-Ubangi, a northwestern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that borders the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville, marking the virus’s spread to a seventh province in the ongoing outbreak. Local authorities said laboratory testing confirmed a suspected case in the Bulu health district, and the national biomedical research institute in Kinshasa verified that the patient had Ebola.

The article says the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, a rare Ebola variant that had previously been reported in six provinces in eastern and northeastern DRC. Officials said local transmission in South-Ubangi has not yet been confirmed, so the province has not been formally added to the list of affected areas. The South-Ubangi governor’s office also said 38 contacts had been identified and quarantined.

The reported case involved a man who developed symptoms in Kisangani, in Tshopo province, after travelling through Rwanda, Uganda and eastern DRC before moving by boat along the Congo River. Authorities warned that the travel route may expose people in North-Ubangi, Tshopo and Mongala.

The development adds to an outbreak that the WHO has described as serious and difficult to control. Al Jazeera notes that weak health systems, remote terrain and insecurity near eastern border areas have complicated containment efforts. The current Ebola strain has no approved vaccine or treatment, although experimental options are being studied.