Over the weekend, two remote regions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recorded cases of Ebola, suggesting previously unknown transmission chains in both North and South Kivu provinces.
According to Reuters, DRC officials today confirmed a new case of Ebola in the remote, militia-controlled territory of Walikale, which is 95 miles northwest of Goma. Goma recorded four cases of Ebola in the last 6 weeks, and it is unclear if the case in Walikale had any contact with other Ebola patients.
Reuters also reported the DRC confirmed a third case in South Kivu region, which reported its first case late last week. South Kivu is more than 430 miles from the outbreak's epicenter. The first cases in South Kivu were a mother and child who were likely exposed in Beni.
For almost a year, the DRC's Ebola outbreak—the second largest in history—was contained to North Kivu and Ituri provinces along the country's eastern border.
But this summer has seen the first cases in Goma and South Kivu in the DRC, as well as in Uganda, signaling that the virus may not be as contained as was previously thought.
WHO: 27 new cases in 3 days
Twenty-seven new Ebola cases were confirmed over the last 3 days, raising the outbreak total 2,888, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) online dashboard.
A total of 387 suspected cases are under investigation, and there have been 21 newly recorded deaths, which raises the fatality total to 1,934.
Beni and Mandima have reported the most cases in the past 21 days.
See also:
Aug 19 Reuters article
WHO dashboard
