Democratic Republic of Congo health authorities have identified a person who has died from Ebola in a province not previously affected by the ongoing outbreak, an official told Reuters, raising fears of wider transmission from multiple exposures before and after the patient’s death.
The case involves a motorcycle taxi driver who travelled to Bas-Uele province, where no cases had previously been reported, from Haut-Uele province, where cases had already been confirmed, Jean-Jacques Muyembe, head of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, told Reuters.
The patient died in Bas-Uele’s capital Buta after developing haemorrhagic symptoms consistent with Ebola and tested positive for the virus after he died, Muyembe said.
Haut-Uele, one of five provinces affected by the outbreak, which was announced on May 15, has recorded 113 confirmed cases, according to the latest available government data published on Tuesday.
