KINSHASA, April 23 — A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting health authorities to enforce urgent containment measures just four months after the previous outbreak came to an end.
The patient began showing symptoms on April 5, but did not seek treatment for more than a week, the World Health Organization said in a statement. He was admitted to an Ebola treatment centre on April 21 and died later that day. Mbandaka, a 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.
Vaccines have been increasingly important in curbing recent Ebola outbreaks. Health authorities vaccinated more than 1,800 people using Merck’s ERVEBO vaccine amid the last flare-up.