WHO confirms 29 new cases of Ebola in Democratic Republic of the Congo

In its last weekly report of the year, covering Dec. 18 to Dec. 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 29 new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease were logged in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The cases spread across four health zones: 18 in Mabalako, four in Butembo, five in Kalunguta, and two in Katwa. Total, this brings the number of confirmed and probable cases to 3,380. Of these, 2,232 cases have been fatal and the majority of those affected — 1,900 — female. Children have also made up 28 percent of those affected by the disease, accounting for 953 cases.

The infections in Butembo are part of one of WHO’s most curious cases in the epidemic, though. They are linked to a transmission chain of more than 50 people that included a relapse case. That relapse was responsible for the infection of several other individuals. Meanwhile, in the case of Kalunguta, the new instances of Ebola there have proven to be a distinct epidemiologically linked chain of transmission, the source of which the WHO is still investigating.

In all, between Dec. 11 and December 31, 2019, the WHO reported 40 confirmed cases within North Kivu province, most linked to known chains of transmission.