Congo Ebola Death Toll Rises to 26 as New Case is Confirmed in Mbandaka

Health officials from Democratic Republic of Congo say there is one new death from Ebola, bringing the number of deaths from the Ebola outbreak to 26 since the the deadly disease was announced in Equateur province in the country’s northwest last month.

A statement from the ministry of health indicates four new cases had been confirmed as Ebola. The ministry said on Sunday, a total of 46 cases of hemorrhagic fever have been reported in the current outbreak, including 21 confirmed cases of Ebola, 21 probable and four suspected. Health officials said they are trying to track down more than 500 people said to have been in contact with people believed infected by the deadly disease.

Over the weekend, government promised to increase funds for the Ebola emergency response. The Cabinet also endorsed the decision to provide free health care in the affected areas and to provide special care to all Ebola victims and their relatives. The European Union Commission has announced a package 1.5 million euro for humanitarian aid to help contain the disease.

A new case of Ebola virus disease has been confirmed in Wangata, one of the three health zones of Mbandaka, a city of nearly 1.2 million people in Equateur Province in northwestern Congo, the World Health Organization has confirmed.

With the €1.5million, EU said they will provide logistics support to the World Health Organization (WHO), and a further €130 000 offered to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) for life-saving interventions by the Congolese Red Cross.

The World Health Organisation on Friday declared the outbreak of Ebola a global health emergency, but it called the risk of spread within Congo “very high” and warned nine neighboring countries that the risk to them was high.