Ebola outbreak: Democratic Republic of the Congo reports death in Bas-Uele province for first time

Democratic Republic of Congo health authorities have identified a person who has died from Ebola in a province not previously affected by the ongoing outbreak, an official says, raising fears of wider transmission from multiple exposures before and after the patient’s death.

The case involves a motorcycle taxi driver who travelled to Bas-Uele province, where no cases had previously been reported, from Haut-Uele province, where cases had already been confirmed, Jean-Jacques Muyembe, head of DR Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, told Reuters.

The patient died in Bas-Uele’s capital Buta after developing haemorrhagic symptoms consistent with Ebola and tested positive for the virus after he died, Dr Muyembe said.

Haut-Uele, one of five provinces affected by the outbreak, which was announced on May 15, has recorded 113 confirmed cases, according to the latest available government data published on Tuesday.

Bas-Uele would not be added to the list of affected provinces until there is a case involving local transmission.

But Dr Muyembe said the motorcycle taxi driver visited several health facilities before his death and fellow motorcycle taxi drivers tried to retrieve his body, prompting the local police to intervene, raising fears that several people may have been infected.

The ongoing Ebola outbreak, DR Congo’s 17th, has infected 4566 people, including 2128 deaths, according to government data released on Wednesday.

The number of cases makes it the second-largest outbreak on record, behind the outbreak in west Africa that lasted from 2014 to 2016.