The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a new area — North Ubangi province, which borders the Central African Republic. Authorities said two cases have been confirmed in the province, Reuters reports, according to infohub.kz.
The epicenter of the outbreak remains Ituri province, but recently case numbers have also been rising in North Kivu. Confirmed infections have also been registered in South Kivu, Tshopo, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele and South Ubangi.
A health official in North Ubangi told the agency that a series of suspicious deaths occurred in a mining area near the border with Bas-Uele, prompting samples to be collected for laboratory analysis.
So far, the total number of cases in the country has exceeded 9,000, with more than 4,000 deaths.
Earlier it was reported that Kenya had officially confirmed its second case of Ebola. The infection was detected in a 39-year-old man who had contact with a deceased Nairobi resident last week.
Recall that the first imported case in the country was identified after a Kenyan who contracted the virus in Congo flew to Nairobi, where a relative took him to hospital.
Currently, 108 contacts are in quarantine in Kenya. The whereabouts of another 15 citizens remain unknown.