The World Health Organization has said that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo had spread in the south area of Kayina, a strife-torn area.
Touted as the second-largest outbreak, the Ebola epidemic has already claimed the lives of over 400 people and infected more than 700. What health workers do is to trace people who may have had contacted those with the disease in order to avoid spreading the disease to others.
New Ebola Cases
Majority of the 102 new Ebola-infected cases this year were from the Katwa health zone, where "response teams have faced pockets of community mistrust." A lot of those who fell ill were not on the list of those who were suspected of having interacted with someone with the disease.
It has become an uneasy challenge for health workers to fight the deadly disease and to visit other affected areas because the rebel attacks in the war-torn region oftentimes leave them at an unsafe situation. They are also subject to being infected by Ebola.
"The outbreak has also extended southwards to Kayina health zone, a high security risk area," WHO explained.
So far, Kayina, a region near the populous city of Goma, already has five reported Ebola cases. Infection reports in this southern area are worrisome for health officials because it could further spread toward the next city, which is a key transportation hub.
Second-Largest Ebola Outbreak
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo started on Aug. 1 last year in Beni and had since spread through the neighboring Ituri. Although the illness had caused hundreds of deaths, the largest outbreak since the disease was first discovered in 1976 happened in West Africa.
This Ebola outbreak, which is characterized by hemorrhagic fever, started in March 2014 and ended two years later, where it killed more than 11,000 people from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. There were also more than 28,000 reported Ebola cases.
