Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak has now spread to Mbandaka, a city of more than 1 million people, a worrying shift as the deadly virus risks travelling more easily in densely populated areas. The city is about 150 kilometres from Bikoro, the rural area where the outbreak was announced last week. A total of 44 cases of Ebola have been reported in Congo in this outbreak: three confirmed, 20 probable and 21 suspected, according to WHO. Article Continued BelowUntil now, the outbreak was confined to remote rural areas, where Ebola, which is spread by bodily fluids, travels more slowly. This is the ninth Ebola outbreak in Congo since 1976, when the disease was first identified.

Source: thestar May 17, 2018 20:48 UTC