Felix Nkambeh Tih
22 April 2020•Update: 22 April 2020
ANKARA
Six new cases of Ebola virus disease were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week, the Regional Office for Africa of the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report on Wednesday.
It said all cases were reported in Beni Health Zone in the North Kivu province -- the epicenter of the outbreak.
''In total, six cases have been reported since April 10, four of whom have passed away. Currently, there is one confirmed case receiving care at an Ebola treatment center and one who remains in the community; response teams are engaging with the community in order to address this,'' according to the report.
It added that there was an urgent need of $20 million ''to ensure that response teams have the capacity to maintain the appropriate level of operations through to the beginning of May 2020.''
The UN agency said it continues to support the DRC's Health Ministry in surveillance efforts, investigating almost 2,000 alerts each day despite continued insecurity.
Over 1,000 suspected cases were tested on April 13-19, a 6% rise from the previous week, according to the WHO.
Last week, the WHO said it set up Ebola vaccination centers in Beni, a day after a second virus-linked death was confirmed in the country's northeastern region.
The recent outbreak declared in August 2018, has claimed more than 2,200 lives, with 3,310 people testing positive.
Ebola, a tropical fever that first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the DRC, is transmitted to humans from wild animals.
It can also spread through contact with body fluids of infected people or of those who have succumbed to the virus.
Ebola caused global alarm in 2014 when the world's worst outbreak began in West Africa, killing more than 11,300 people and infecting an estimated 28,600 as it swept through Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
