Alarm in Africa: Ebola outbreak hundreds of kilometers away from the hotspot

Health experts warn that the virus may have been spreading undetected for nearly two months before the outbreak was officially reported last week.

According to local authorities and the rebel Congo River Alliance, which controls parts of eastern Congo, the infected person was a 28-year-old man from a rural area near the provincial capital Bukavu. He has since died and was safely buried, Reuters reported.

It is also stated that the patient had previously traveled from the northern city of Kisangani, although details of his movements have not been disclosed.

Health authorities spokesperson for South Kivu, Claude Bahizire, said that two suspected Ebola cases have been detected in the province, including the deceased patient, while the second person has been isolated and is awaiting test results.

According to data from the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 670 suspected cases have been reported so far, with 61 confirmed infections and 160 deaths.

Two confirmed cases have also been recorded in neighboring Uganda, whose authorities announced they will suspend flights to the Congo within the next 48 hours as a precautionary measure.

The African Union said that due to the worsening health situation, the India–Africa Forum Summit, scheduled to take place in New Delhi from May 28 to 31, will be postponed.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared over the weekend that the Bundibugyo strain outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and stated that there is currently no vaccine for this strain of the virus.

During the previous major Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo from 2018 to 2020, in which nearly 2,300 people died, hundreds of health facilities were attacked by armed groups and local communities, Reuters reported.