The woman encountered symptoms of the virus in the city of Biena, near the city of Butembo, on February 1, and died at the hospital on February 3. She was married to a man who had contracted the virus in an earlier outbreak.
“The provincial response team is already working hard. It will be supported by the national response team that will visit Butembo soon,” the ministry said in a statement.
The World Health Organization (WHO), which supports response efforts, says it has tracked more than 70 women’s contacts. The places he visited are also disinfected.
It is still unclear whether this case marks the start of a new outbreak or whether it is a manageable outbreak of the last one. Samples of the woman have been sent to the capital Kinshasa to confirm the link to the previous outbreak.
“It is not uncommon for sporadic cases to occur after a major outbreak,” the WHO said in a statement. He added that WHO epidemiologists are investigating on the ground, but that emergency response efforts had been hampered by insecurity in the region.
The emergence of more cases could complicate efforts to eradicate Covid-19, which has infected 23,600 people and killed 681 in the DRC. A coronavirus vaccination campaign is expected to begin during the first half of this year.
However, an Ebola vaccine and a well-drilled health care system make the country better placed than ever to deal with outbreaks, even in urban settings. Ebola has a much higher mortality rate than Covid-19, but unlike coronavirus it is not transmitted by asymptomatic carriers. And the lessons learned from fighting these multiple outbreaks have helped efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus, experts say.
A recurring problem
Ebola virus disease can cause fever, headache, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea, among other symptoms. It is transmitted through contact with infected animals or with the body fluids of infected people.
The equatorial forests of the DRC have been a breeding ground for Ebola. The disease killed nearly 2,300 people between 2018 and 2020, in the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak.
The country has experienced 11 outbreaks since the virus was first discovered near the Ebola River in the DRC in 1976, more than double any other country.
In addition, militia violence in the northeast, including attacks on health centers, has claimed the lives of residents and health workers. Nearly one million people were forced to flee their homes in 2019 alone, the United Nations agency said, further hampering access to health care and prevention.