Health ministry confirms deaths from virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

At least 17 people have died in the north-west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where health officials have confirmed an outbreak of Ebola, the health ministry has said.

It is the ninth time Ebola has been recorded in the DRC, whose eastern Ebola river gave the deadly virus its name when it was discovered there in the 1970s, and the outbreak comes less than a year after one that killed eight people.

The health ministry said: “Our country is facing another epidemic of the Ebola virus, which constitutes an international public health emergency.

“We still dispose of the well-trained human resources that were able to rapidly control previous epidemics.”

Ebola outbreaks from 1976 to now – interactive map Read more

Ebola is believed to be spread over long distances by bats, which can host the virus without dying, as they infect other animals with which they share trees, such as monkeys. Ebola often spreads to humans via infected bushmeat.

Before the outbreak was confirmed, local health officials reported 21 patients showing signs of hemorrhagic fever around the village of Ikoko Impenge, near the town of Bikoro. Seventeen of those later died.

Medical teams supported by the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières were dispatched to the zone on Saturday and took five samples from suspected active cases.

Two of the samples tested positive for the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, the ministry said.

After DRC’s previous Ebola flare-up, authorities approved the use of a new experimental vaccine, but in the end did not deploy it owing to logistical challenges and the relatively minor nature of the outbreak.

The worst Ebola epidemic ended in West Africa two years ago after killing more than 11,300 people and infecting about 28,600 across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Despite regular outbreaks every few years, death tolls in the DRC have been significantly lower.</s>The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Bikoro in Equateur Province today (8 May). The outbreak declaration occurred after laboratory results confirmed two cases of EVD. The Ministry of Health of Democratic of the Congo (DRC) informed WHO that two out of five […]

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Bikoro in Equateur Province today (8 May). The...



Source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...</s>(CNN) — The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, a rare and deadly disease, on Tuesday, the World Health Organization reported. The declaration came after laboratory results confirmed two cases of the disease in the province of Bikoro in the northwestern part of the country.

Ebola virus disease, which most commonly affects people and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees), is caused by one of five Ebola viruses. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. The average case fatality rate is around 50%.

A government statement released Tuesday states that the Ministry of Health has “taken all necessary measures to respond promptly and effectively to this new epidemic of Ebola in the DRC’s national territory”.

In the past five weeks, there have been 21 suspected cases of viral hemorrhagic fever, including 17 deaths.

“We will gather more samples, conduct contact tracing, engage the communities with messages on prevention and control, and put in place methods for improving data collection and sharing,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa. “WHO will work closely with health authorities and partners to support the national response.”

Ebola is endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and this is its ninth outbreak of Ebola virus disease since the discovery of the virus in the country in 1976. The last outbreak occurred there in 2017 in the northern Bas Uele province. That outbreak was quickly contained due to joint efforts by the government, the WHO, and other partners.

A local team from the Ministry of Health is working in Bikoro, managing the cases and conducting research. On Wednesday a team of experts will travel from Kinshasa to Bikoro with equipment necessary to facilitate a field response.

Speaking on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Congo Minister of Health, Lambert Matuku, the Minister of State and Labor, said, it is “a worrisome sanitary situation.”

The WHO said it is again working closely with the government to rapidly scale up its operations and mobilize health partners, including Medicin sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), using its model of a successful response to the Ebola outbreak of 2017.

Upon learning of the confirmed cases, the WHO alerted neighboring countries and set up its Incident Management System to fully dedicate staff and resources to the response.

Hoping to stop the spread of Ebola to surrounding provinces and countries, the WHO also released $1 million from a contingency fund to support its activities for the next three months.

Bikoro is situated on the shores of Lake Tumba near the border with the Republic of the Congo. The new cases were reported from a small health facility about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Bikoro.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a disease caused by one of five different Ebola viruses. Four of the strains can cause severe illness in humans and animals. The fifth, Reston virus, has caused illness in some animals, but not in humans.

The first human outbreaks occurred in 1976, one in northern Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Central Africa: and the other, in southern Sudan (now South Sudan). The virus is named after the Ebola River, where the virus was first recognized in 1976, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ebola is extremely infectious but not extremely contagious. It is infectious, because an infinitesimally small amount can cause illness. Laboratory experiments on nonhuman primates suggest that even a single virus may be enough to trigger a fatal infection.

Ebola could be considered moderately contagious, because the virus is not transmitted through the air.

Humans can be infected by other humans if they come in contact with body fluids from an infected person or contaminated objects from infected persons. Humans can also be exposed to the virus, for example, by butchering infected animals.

While the exact reservoir of Ebola viruses is still unknown, researchers believe the most likely natural hosts are fruit bats.

Symptoms of Ebola typically include: weakness, fever, aches, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain. Additional experiences include rash, red eyes, chest pain, throat soreness, difficulty breathing or swallowing and bleeding (including internal).

Typically, symptoms appear 8-10 days after exposure to the virus, but the incubation period can span two to 21 days.

Unprotected health care workers are susceptible to infection because of their close contact with patients during treatment.

Ebola is not transmissible if someone is asymptomatic and usually not after someone has recovered from it. However, the virus has been found in semen for up to three months, and “possibly” is transmitted from contact with that semen, according to the CDC.

Deadly human Ebola outbreaks have been confirmed in the following countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gabon, South Sudan, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Republic of the Congo (ROC), Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

There are five subspecies of the Ebola virus: Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV), Taï Forest ebolavirus (TAFV) and Reston ebolavirus (RESTV)

Click here for the CDC’s list of known cases and outbreaks.</s>It is the country's ninth Ebola outbreak since the disease was first discovered in a small village in the DRC (then known as Zaire) in 1976. The deadly disease is hitting the town of Bikoro in the country's Equateur province. The new outbreak was declared after laboratory results confirmed two cases of Ebola, according to a press release from the World Health Organization (WHO). "Our country is facing a new epidemic of Ebola that is a public health emergency of international concern," the Ministry of Health stated in a letter to the country's population, posted on twitter by Dr. Oly Ilunga, the Minister of Public Health. It has been less than one year since the country's last Ebola outbreak. In 2017, eight people were infected and four died of the disease. The 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa (pictured above) was the worst in history and the first-ever epidemic, affecting multiple countries, including some cases in the US in travelers. There were 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths overall in that outbreak.

The Ministry of Health sent samples from five patients to the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale in Kinshasa, and two out of the five tested positive for the Zaire strain of Ebola virus disease (EVD). However, Ebola is only one type of viral hemorrhagic fever, so it is still not clear whether the other cases and deaths are also from Ebola or another illness. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health officials in the DRC are in the process of collecting additional specimens for testing. Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is caused by a virus spread through blood and bodily fluids from infected humans or animals, primarily bats and monkeys. The early signs of Ebola — fatigue, fever, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea — can be easy to confuse with the flu or malaria. But it can also cause severe hemorrhaging (bleeding or bruising), often resulting in death. The average Ebola case fatality rate is around 50%, but it can be as high as 90%.

According to the WHO, the health facilities in Bikoro "have very limited functionality and rely on international organizations to provide supplies that frequently stock out." So the DRC government is teaming up with the WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) to scale up operations and strengthen relief efforts. The WHO said it is relying on the same response model used during the 2017 Ebola outbreak, where international agencies were able to step in immediately (pictured above) to support the DRC and control the outbreak within two months. “Our top priority is to get to Bikoro to work alongside the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and partners to reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola virus disease outbreak [...] Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease,” said Dr Peter Salama, WHO Deputy Director-General for Emergency Preparedness and Response, in the news release.

Treatment for Ebola usually involves a combination of intense supportive care in the hospital (IV fluids, electrolytes, oxygen) and treating any related complications or infections, according to the WHO. Whether or not a patient recovers from Ebola depends on both the quality of supportive care and the patient’s immune system or pre-existing health issues. The earlier the patient receives supportive care, the better their chances of survival. Many people who recover go on to suffer from chronic health problems, such as joint pain or eye problems. However, they will develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There is no specific treatment, cure, or vaccine for Ebola. Since the 2014 epidemic, researchers have been working on an experimental vaccine called rVSV-ZEBOV. As of 2017, the vaccine was shown to be somewhat effective in protecting against Ebola but the extent of the protection was uncertain. It was not deployed in the 2018 outbreak. According to the WHO, there are also a number of immunological and drug therapies for Ebola in development.</s>The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Bikoro in Equateur Province today (8 May). The outbreak declaration occurred after laboratory results confirmed two cases of EVD.

The Ministry of Health of Democratic of the Congo (DRC) informed WHO that two out of five samples collected from five patients tested positive for EVD at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in Kinshasa. More specimens are being collected for testing.

WHO is working closely with the Government of the DRC to rapidly scale up its operations and mobilize health partners using the model of a successful response to a similar EVD outbreak in 2017.

“Our top priority is to get to Bikoro to work alongside the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and partners to reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola virus disease outbreak,” said Dr Peter Salama, WHO Deputy Director-General, Emergency Preparedness and Response. “Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease.”

The first multidisciplinary team comprised of experts from WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières and Provincial Division of Health travelled today to Bikoro to strengthen coordination and investigations.

Bikoro is situated in Equateur Province on the shores of Lake Tumba in the north-western part of the country near the Republic of the Congo. All cases were reported from iIkoko Iponge health facility located about 30 kilometres from Bikoro. Health facilities in Bikoro have very limited functionality, and rely on international organizations to provide supplies that frequently stock out.

“We know that addressing this outbreak will require a comprehensive and coordinated response. WHO will work closely with health authorities and partners to support the national response. We will gather more samples, conduct contact tracing, engage the communities with messages on prevention and control, and put in place methods for improving data collection and sharing,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa.

This is DRC’s ninth outbreak of EVD since the discovery of the virus in the country in 1976. In the past five weeks, there have been 21 suspected viral haemorrhagic fever in and around the iIkoko Iponge, including 17 deaths.

“WHO is closely working with other partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières, to ensure a strong, response to support the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to prevent and control the spreading of the disease from the epicentre of iIkoko Iponge Health Zone to save lives,” said Dr Allarangar Yokouide, WHO Representative in the DRC.

Upon learning about the laboratory results today, WHO set up its Incident Management System to fully dedicate staff and resources across the organization to the response. WHO plans to deploy epidemiologists, logisticians, clinicians, infection prevention and control experts, risk communications experts and vaccination support teams in the coming days. WHO will also be determining supply needs and help fill gaps, such as for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). WHO has also alerted neighbouring countries.

WHO released US$ 1 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support response activities for the next three months with the goal of stopping the spread of Ebola to surrounding provinces and countries.

Ebola is endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The last Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo occurred in 2017 in Likati Health Zone, Bas Uele Province, in the northern part of the country and was quickly contained thanks to joint efforts by the Government of DRC, WHO and many different partners.

An effective response to the 2017 EVD outbreak was achieved through the timely alert by local authorities of suspect cases, immediate testing of blood samples due to strengthened national laboratory capacity, the early announcement of the outbreak by the government, rapid response activities by local and national health authorities with the robust support of international partners, and speedy access to flexible funding.

Coordination support on the ground by WHO was critical and an Incident Management System was set up within 24 hours of the outbreak being announced. WHO deployed more than 50 experts to work closely with government and partners.

The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated. The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO).</s>The Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a new Ebola outbreak Tuesday, after two samples taken from patients tested positive for the deadly disease that killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa and sparked a worldwide panic earlier this decade.

The World Health Organization said the country’s health ministry uncovered the cases in Bikoro, which is located in the northwestern part of the country.

Scientists confirmed Ebola in two specimens collected from five patients, though it is gathering more, suggesting the outbreak could be more widespread.

The WHO released $1 million from its contingency fund to try and control the outbreak, using lessons it learned in stamping out another bout of Ebola in Congo in 2017.

“Our top priority is to get to Bikoro to work alongside the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and partners to reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola virus disease outbreak,” said Dr. Peter Salama, WHO deputy director-general for emergency preparedness and response. “Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease.”

This is the ninth Ebola outbreak recorded in the Congo since 1976, when the disease was discovered there.

WHO and local officials were able to quickly control last year’s outbreak in an isolated part of the country, though the 2013-2016 swept through densely populated areas, devastating Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone and sparking a U.S. debate about travel bans and whether to quarantine returning health workers.

Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man, traveled to Texas in late 2014 was admitted to the hospital wth Ebola-like symptoms, though he was released after doctors missed warning signs. He became the first person to test positive for the disease on U.S. soil and later died in Dallas.

Two nurses who cared for him contracted Ebola, but recovered.

The Washington Times is switching its third-party commenting system from Disqus to Spot.IM. You will need to either create an account with Spot.im or if you wish to use your Disqus account look under the Conversation for the link "Have a Disqus Account?". Please read our The Washington Times is switching its third-party commenting system from Disqus to Spot.IM. You will need to either create an account with Spot.im or if you wish to use your Disqus account look under the Conversation for the link "Have a Disqus Account?". Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.</s>It is the ninth time Ebola has been recorded in the central African nation, whose eastern Ebola river gave the deadly virus its name.

Ebola is believed to be spread over long distances by bats, which can host the virus without dying, as it infects other animals it shares trees with such as monkeys. It often spreads to humans via infected bushmeat. (Photo: AFP)

Kinshasa: At least 17 people have died in an area of northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo where health officials have now confirmed an outbreak of Ebola, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

It is the ninth time Ebola has been recorded in the central African nation, whose eastern Ebola river gave the deadly virus its name when it was discovered there in the 1970s, and comes less than a year after its last outbreak which killed eight people.

“Our country is facing another epidemic of the Ebola virus, which constitutes an international public health emergency,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We still dispose of the well trained human resources that were able to rapidly control previous epidemics,” it said.

Ebola is believed to be spread over long distances by bats, which can host the virus without dying, as it infects other animals it shares trees with such as monkeys. It often spreads to humans via infected bushmeat.

Before the outbreak was confirmed, local health officials reported 21 patients showing signs of hemorrhagic fever around the village of Ikoko Impenge, near the town of Bikoro. Seventeen of those later died.

Medical teams supported by the World Health Organization and medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres were dispatched to the zone on Saturday and took five samples from suspected active cases.

Two of those samples tested positive for the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, the ministry said.

“Since notification of the cases on May 3, no deaths have been reported either among the hospitalised cases or the healthcare personnel,” the statement said.

After Congo’s last Ebola flare-up, authorities there approved the use of a new experimental vaccine but in the end did not deploy it owing to logistical challenges and the relatively minor nature of the outbreak.

The worst Ebola epidemic in history ended in West Africa just two years ago after killing more than 11,300 people and infected some 28,600 as it rolled through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Despite regular outbreaks every few years, death tolls in Congo have been significantly lower.

“Our top priority is to get to Bikoro to work alongside the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and partners to reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola virus disease outbreak,” said Dr Peter Salama, WHO Deputy Director-General, Emergency Preparedness and Response.

“Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease.”

Health experts credit an awareness of the disease among the population and local medical staff’s experience treating for past successes containing its spread.

Congo’s vast, remote geography also gives it an advantage, as outbreaks are often localised and relatively easy to isolate.

Ikoko Impenge and Bikoro, however, lie not far from the banks of the Congo River, an essential waterway for transport and commerce.

Further downstream the river flows past Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa and Brazzaville, capital of neighboring Congo Republic - two cities with a combined population of over 12 million people.</s>There is no specific treatment for the Ebola virus.

There is no specific treatment for the Ebola virus. News Corp Australia

At least 17 people have died in an area of the Democratic Republic of Congo where health officials have declared an Ebola outbreak.

A health ministry statement said the central African country was "facing another epidemic" less than a year after its last Ebola outbreak killed eight people.

Medical teams dispatched to the zone took five samples from suspected active cases and two tested positive for the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, the ministry said in a statement.

In the past five weeks, there have been 21 suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever, including 17 deaths.

​DRC was not affected by the major 2014 outbreak of the virus, which killed thousands of people across west Africa.

But in recent decades there have been a number of outbreaks there caused by the Zaire Ebola species.

Ebola first emerged in 1976 in what is now the DRC, and is named after a river in the country.

Health minister Oly Ilunga said [in French] a rapid response team would be deployed to the Équateur Province in the northwest of the country on Wednesday morning.

"Our country is facing another epidemic of the Ebola virus, which constitutes an international public health emergency," the ministry added in a statement.

"We still dispose of the well trained human resources that were able to rapidly control previous epidemics."

Ebola is believed to be spread over long distances by bats, which can host the virus without dying, as it infects other animals it shares trees with such as monkeys. It often spreads to humans via infected bushmeat.

The virus is also spread person-to-person in the blood, body fluids or organs of someone with the infection.

There are currently no licensed treatments or vaccines for Ebola, although potential new therapies are currently under development.

After Congo's last Ebola flare-up, authorities there approved the use of a new experimental vaccine but in the end did not deploy it owing to logistical challenges and the relatively minor nature of the outbreak.

The World Health Organisation said it was working to "rapidly scale up its operations" in DRC following the outbreak.

"Our top priority is to get to Bikoro to work alongside the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and partners to reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola virus disease outbreak," said Dr Peter Salama, WHO Deputy Director-General for emergency preparedness and response.

WHO said it had released $1m (£740,000) from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support response activities for the next three months with the goal of stopping the spread of Ebola to surrounding provinces and countries.</s>Two out of five samples from patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have tested positive for Ebola virus disease, sparking the DRC government to declare an outbreak, the World Health Organization confirmed Tuesday.

The five samples are all from the iIkoko Iponge health facility near Bikoro in Equateur Province, which is located in the northwestern part of the country along the shores of Lake Tumba. In the past five weeks, the area has reported 21 cases, including 17 deaths, suspected to be from a viral haemorrhagic fever. This is a generic term for illnesses involving fever and bleeding that are caused by a variety of viruses, including Ebola.

The WHO notes that Bikoro’s health facilities have “limited functionality” and largely rely on international aid and supplies. The DRC’s Ministry of Health tested the five patient samples at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in Kinshasa, the country’s capital.

After the DRC notified WHO of the outbreak, the international agency set up a dedicated team of staff to coordinate a response and released $1 million in emergency funding to support the response activities. WHO is preparing to deploy a multidisciplinary group of experts to Bikoro in the coming days. But a group of experts, including some from WHO and Doctors Without Boarders (Médecins Sans Frontières), already traveled to Bikoro today to help rapidly scale up response efforts.

“Our top priority is to get to Bikoro to work alongside the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and partners to reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola virus disease outbreak,” WHO Deputy Director-General of Emergency Preparedness and Response Dr. Peter Salama said in a press statement. “Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease.”

This outbreak is the ninth for the DRC since the Ebola virus was discovered in samples from the country (then Zaire) in 1976. Ebola is endemic to the DRC and transmitted to people from wild animals, including primates and bats. Ebola virus disease causes fever, pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and unexplained hemorrhaging. It spreads from person to person through bodily fluids and leads to death in about 50 percent of cases.

The last outbreak, in 2017, was quashed quickly with rapid, coordinated responses, the WHO notes.</s>The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, a rare and deadly disease, on Tuesday, the World Health Organization reported. The declaration came after laboratory results confirmed two cases of the disease in the province of Bikoro in the northwestern part of the country.

Ebola virus disease, which most commonly affects people and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees), is caused by one of five Ebola viruses. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. The average case fatality rate is around 50%.

A government statement released Tuesday states that the Ministry of Health has “taken all necessary measures to respond promptly and effectively to this new epidemic of Ebola in the DRC’s national territory”.

In the past five weeks, there have been 21 suspected cases of viral hemorrhagic fever, including 17 deaths.

“We will gather more samples, conduct contact tracing, engage the communities with messages on prevention and control, and put in place methods for improving data collection and sharing,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa. “WHO will work closely with health authorities and partners to support the national response.”

Ebola is endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and this is its ninth outbreak of Ebola virus disease since the discovery of the virus in the country in 1976. The last outbreak occurred there in 2017 in the northern Bas Uele province. That outbreak was quickly contained due to joint efforts by the government, the WHO and other partners.

A local team from the Ministry of Health is working in Bikoro, managing the cases and conducting research. On Wednesday a team of experts will travel from Kinshasa to Bikoro with equipment necessary to facilitate a field response.

Speaking on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Congo Minister of Health, Lambert Matuku, the Minister of State and Labor, said, it is “a worrisome sanitary situation.”

The WHO said it is again working closely with the government to rapidly scale up its operations and mobilize health partners, including Medicin sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), using its model of a successful response to the Ebola outbreak of 2017.

Upon learning of the confirmed cases, the WHO alerted neighboring countries and set up its Incident Management System to fully dedicate staff and resources to the response.

Hoping to stop the spread of Ebola to surrounding provinces and countries, the WHO also released $1 million from a contingency fund to support its activities for the next three months.

Bikoro is situated on the shores of Lake Tumba near the border with the Republic of the Congo. The new cases were reported from a small health facility about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Bikoro.
A new outbreak of the Ebola virus disease kills at least 17 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.