Ebola spreads to new province in DRC

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has spread to the northwestern province of Sud-Ubangi after a case was confirmed, according to local authorities.

In a statement, Sud-Ubangi's acting governor, Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe, said laboratory tests confirmed the presence of Bundibugyo ebolavirus in a sample, prompting authorities to declare an outbreak in the province.

Sud-Ubangi does not border any of the six provinces where confirmed Ebola cases had previously been reported: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo and Bas-Uele.

Authorities have not disclosed the source of the infection or any known epidemiological link to the existing outbreak.

He added that authorities would continue to strengthen surveillance, ensure the treatment of patients and work to interrupt chains of transmission.

According to the latest official figures, the DRC had recorded 6,843 confirmed Ebola cases as of September 8, including 3,310 deaths and 1,611 recoveries.

The case fatality rate stood at 48.4%.

The current outbreak, declared in May, has become the country's largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic on record and the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally, after the 2014–2016 epidemic in West Africa.