The announcement by the health ministry comes almost three months after the DRC declared the end of the 11th outbreak of Ebola.
A new case of Ebola has been identified near the town of Butembo in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the country’s health ministry said.
A woman was found with symptoms of the deadly virus in the city of Biena on February 1, who died at the hospital in Butembo on February 3. She was married to a man who contracted the virus in a previous outbreak.
“The provincial response team is already working hard. He will be supported by the national response team, which will soon visit Butembo, “the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
The announcement could mark the beginning of the 12th outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, since the virus was discovered near the Ebola River in 1976, more than double that of any other country.
It comes almost three months after the DRC announced the end of the 11th outbreak hundreds of kilometers to the west, which infected 130 people and killed 55. This outbreak overlapped with an older one in the east, which killed more than 2,200 people – most in the history of the disease.
The emergence of several cases could complicate efforts to eradicate COVID-19, which has infected 23,600 people and killed 681 in the DRC. A vaccination campaign is expected to begin in the first half of this year.
Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever caused by the virus, which spreads through contact with body fluids. In extreme cases, it causes fatal bleeding from the internal organs, mouth, eyes or ears.