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 It is the ninth time Ebola has been recorded in the central African
nation, whose eastern Ebola river gave the deadly virus its name
when it was discovered there in the 1970s, and comes less than a
year after its last outbreak which killed eight people.
"Our country is facing another epidemic of the Ebola virus, which
constitutes an international public health emergency," the ministry
said in a statement.
"We still dispose of the well trained human resources that were able
to rapidly control previous epidemics," it said.
Ebola is believed to be spread over long distances by bats, which
can host the virus without dying, as it infects other animals it
shares trees with such as monkeys. It often spreads to humans via
infected bushmeat.
Before the outbreak was confirmed, local health officials reported
21 patients showing signs of hemorrhagic fever around the village of
Ikoko Impenge, near the town of Bikoro. Seventeen of those later
died.
Medical teams supported by the World Health Organization and medical
charity Medecins Sans Frontieres were dispatched to the zone on
Saturday and took five samples from suspected active cases.
Two of those samples tested positive for the Zaire strain of the
Ebola virus, the ministry said.
"Since notification of the cases on May 3, no deaths have been
reported either among the hospitalised cases or the healthcare
personnel," the statement said.
After Congo's last Ebola flare-up, authorities there approved the
use of a new experimental vaccine but in the end did not deploy it
owing to logistical challenges and the relatively minor nature of
the outbreak.
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The worst Ebola epidemic in history ended in West Africa just two
years ago after killing more than 11,300 people and infected some
28,600 as it rolled through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Despite regular outbreaks every few years, death tolls in Congo have
been significantly lower.
"Our top priority is to get to Bikoro to work alongside the
Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and partners to
reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola
virus disease outbreak," said Dr Peter Salama, WHO Deputy
Director-General, Emergency Preparedness and Response.
"Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way
will be vital to containing this deadly disease."
Health experts credit an awareness of the disease among the
population and local medical staff's experience treating for past
successes containing its spread.
Congo's vast, remote geography also gives it an advantage, as
outbreaks are often localized and relatively easy to isolate.
Ikoko Impenge and Bikoro, however, lie not far from the banks of the
Congo River, an essential waterway for transport and commerce.
Further downstream the river flows past Democratic Republic of
Congo's capital Kinshasa and Brazzaville, capital of neighboring
Congo Republic - two cities with a combined population of over 12
million people.
(Writing by Tim Cocks and Joe Bavier; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
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