New DRC province reports Ebola case as deaths surge

Suspected Ebola cases have ⁠been reported in a previously unaffected province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, highlighting the expansion of the ongoing outbreak as the death toll hit 600.

The outbreak, declared on 15 May, has so far infected 1,759 people across Congo's eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, according to the government's latest situation report.

But that case total does not include two cases in ‌Kisangani, the capital of ⁠Tshopo province and one of Congo's biggest cities, the situation report said.

One of those cases is linked to the health zone of Niania in Ituri province, where the first cases were reported. But the second case "does not appear to ‌have a geographic link" beyond Kisangani, it said.

The positive test results are in the process ⁠of being validated by confirmatory testing, after which they will ‌be included in the official case total, it said.

Response teams have ⁠in the ‌meantime begun strengthening surveillance, contact tracing and other containment measures in Kisangani, it said.

The ⁠situation report documented 51 new cases and 20 new deaths in the previous 24 hours.

It was reported last week that Congolese health authorities were tracing people potentially exposed to ⁠Ebola in two provinces not previously affected by the outbreak: Tshopo and Haut-Uele.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said this week that the outbreak had not yet stabilised and was still expanding as population movement fuelled transmission.