Ebola outbreak spreads as German hospital treats infected Congo patient

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An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to two more provinces, Haut-Uele and Tshopo, the country’s public health institute said in its latest ⁠report.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases across the country rose to 1,926, including 702 deaths, official data showed late on Sunday. Four cases were recorded in Tshopo, including two deaths, with one death confirmed ⁠in Haut-Uele, as of Saturday.

It comes as an American citizen infected with the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of ‌Congo was admitted to Frankfurt University Hospital early on Monday,

The latest ⁠Ebola outbreak, Congo’s 17th, was declared on May 15 and has been largely concentrated in Ituri province, with cases ⁠also reported in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

The often ⁠fatal viral disease spreads ‌through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people or animals and causes symptoms that can include high fever, vomiting and ‌internal and external bleeding.

“Although current investigations suggest that all cases detected in these two provinces are primarily imported from Niania in Ituri, it is necessary and appropriate … to consider these two provinces as an epidemic zone,” the National Institute of Public Health said in its report dated July 11.

Tshopo’s provincial ‌capital is Kisangani, one of Congo’s largest cities. Haut-Uele shares borders with South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

A health worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, (Reuters)

A ‌senior World Health Organization ⁠official said last week that the true scale of ⁠the outbreak could be two to four times larger than official data indicate ‌because four out of five new Ebola cases ‌have no known link to existing patients.

A United States citizen infected with the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of ‌Congo was admitted to Frankfurt University Hospital early on Monday, officials said. The patient arrived at the hospital’s special isolation unit at around 3 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) after contracting the Bundibugyo variant ⁠of the Ebola virus in Congo, the hospital said.

The U.S. CDC said on Friday that a U.S. citizen working for a humanitarian organization in Congo had tested positive for the Bundibugyo Ebola virus.

“The patient’s condition is currently stable,” said Timo Wolf, head of the special isolation unit.

The hospital said there was no ‌risk ⁠to the public or other patients, as the individual is being treated in complete isolation in a unit that is structurally and organizationally

In June, a U.S. citizen treated in Berlin after contracting Ebola in Congo was discharged from Charité hospital.

Symptoms of Ebola:

The disease first emerged in 1976, and has since then killed an estimated 2,000 people. Previous outbreaks have had mortality rates as high as 90 per cent, though the chance of dying from the most recent strand appears to be at around 60 per cent.

Doctors have been urged to look out for patients exhibiting the early symptoms of the virus, which include fever, headaches, joint and muscle pain and lack of appetite.

Later symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain, a rash and both internal and external bleeding – often from the eyes, nose or mouth.