More than 740 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been infected with Ebola since its outbreak was declared in the country six months ago.
According to the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) 30 percent of those infected were children.
The latest Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo is the country’s 10th, and is considered to be its worst breakout ever. . It is also the world’s second largest Ebola outbreak in history after the one in West Africa in 2014-2016.
More than 460 people have died from the disease, as response continues to be hampered by insecurity issues, frequent movements of people in the affected areas and resistance from some communities.
“While we have been able to largely control the disease in Mangina, Beni and Komanda, the virus continues to spread in the Butembo area, largely because of insecurity and population movement,” UNICEF Representative in the DR Congo DR. Gianfranco Rotigliano said.
“We are scaling up our response and deploying additional staff in the health zones of Butembo and Katwa, where 65 per cent of the new Ebola cases in the last three weeks have occurred.”
Before the DR Congo presidential election held on 30 December, the response work was halted in some areas due to insecurity, but it resumed earlier this year.
Ending the deadly outbreak will be one of the biggest challenges for new President Felix Tshisekedi who won that vote.
