[ad_1]
GOMA, DR Congo: One-year-old girl becomes the third patient to have positive ebola results in densely populated DR Congo city of Goma, local authorities announced Wednesday (July 31st), adding that she is the daughter of a second patient who died earlier during the week.
"I was informed of another confirmed case of Ebola at the Goma Ebola Treatment Center," said Aruna Abedi, Ebola's chief coordinator in North Kivu, the most affected province since the outbreak on August 1 last year.
"Vaccination began at the Kiziba Health Center to break the contamination chain. Medical staff and people who have had contact with patients and those who have had contact with them have been prioritized," Abedi told AFP.
The latest diagnosis is just the latest sign that the outbreak has widened dramatically and came just hours after the report that the second patient died on Tuesday night.
"The third confirmed case is a one-year-old girl of a 10-year-old father who died today in downtown Kiziba. The girl was already showing signs of the disease, "an Ebola response officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The first death of Ebola in Goma – a city of more than two million people on the border with Rwanda with transport links to many parts of East Africa – sparked a wave of concern when it was announced on 16 July.
A day later, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the epidemic a "public health emergency of international concern" aimed at boosting the global response.
Also Wednesday, it was reported that 15 people were quarantined in the neighboring province of South Kivu, which had earlier transmitted the epidemic.
A total of 1803 lives were lost in the second worst Ebola outbreak, according to figures released Wednesday.
Source link
