The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that the Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded 48 confirmed and probable Ebola cases and 31 deaths, two weeks after authorities declared an outbreak in Kasai Province.
WHO has flown in more than 14 tonnes of supplies, deployed experts and opened a treatment centre where 16 patients are receiving care, with more than 900 contacts under follow-up; two patients were discharged this week.
Vaccination has begun for frontline health workers and contacts in Bulape, the epicentre, using initial shipments of the Ervebo vaccine — 400 doses drawn from a national stockpile of 2,000 — as part of efforts to contain spread. The current flare-up is Congo’s first Ebola outbreak in three years.