New Ebola case confirmed in northwestern Congo, lab report says

A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, the National Institute of Biomedical Research said on Saturday, four months after the end of the country’s last outbreak.

The case, a 31-year old male, was detected in the city of Mbandaka, capital of Congo’s Equateur province, the institute said. A health ministry spokesperson confirmed the discovery.

The patient began showing symptoms on April 5, but did not seek treatment for more than a week. He was admitted to an Ebola treatment centre on April 21 and died later that day, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.

“Time is not on our side,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s Regional Director for Africa. “The disease has had a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up.”

Mbandaka, a crowded trading hub on the banks of the Congo River, has contended with two previous outbreaks — in 2018 and in 2020. It is a city where people live in close proximity, with road, water and air links to the capital Kinshasa.

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