According to the Actualite.cd news portal, a total of 51 EVD cases were reported in the region, of which 28 were confirmed, 21 were probable and two were suspected. At least one lethal case was confirmed in the Wangata community in Mbandaka, the capital of the Equateur province.
READ MORE: Congo Gov’t to Launch Experimental Vaccination in Ebola-Hit Mbandaka – Reports
Meanwhile, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) has launched an international appeal for $1.6 million to support the ongoing work of the organization in Congo.
Dr. Fatoumata Nafo-Traore, the organization’s regional director for Africa, highlighted that the IFRC prioritized its emergency response to the EVD outbreak with the provision of burials.
"Our emergency operation includes a major focus on safe and dignified burials. This was a critical intervention in West Africa where it prevented as many as 10,000 additional cases," Nafo-Traore said.
The Ebola virus is transmitted to humans from animals and is estimated by the WHO to have a 50-percent fatality rate. The DR Congo's latest EVD outbreak was in July-November 2014. This was the country's seventh outbreak. According to the information provided by the WHO, during the 2014 epidemic, a total of 66 EVD cases were registered, and as many as 49 cases resulted in death.
In total, the disease killed over 11,000 people in West Africa between 2014 and 2015.