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 The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo has so far
infected more than 3,300 people and killed more than 2,200 since the
middle of last year, making it the second-worst on record.
In early December, Congolese health authorities reported that a
survivor in Mabalako, North Kivu province, had fallen ill with the
virus again.
Preliminary tests have since classified it as a relapse, the WHO
said in a weekly report.
"Rare cases of relapse - in which a person who has recovered from
EVD (Ebola) gets disease symptoms again - have been documented
during past outbreaks, but this is the first relapse documented in
this outbreak," it said.
Eleven new Ebola cases were confirmed in the past week, all of whom
are believed to have caught the virus from the person who relapsed,
according to the WHO. Overall the case was a potential source of
infection for 28 people, it said.
"It is a single transmission chain but it is worrying," said Mike
Ryan, head of the WHO's emergencies program, on Thursday.
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He said the situation in Mabalako was worrying partly due to its
proximity to the town of Butembo, a populous trading hub and
one-time epicentre of the outbreak.
"We had a massive problem (in Butembo) only 6 months ago, so there
is real concern that any continued transmission in Mabalako may
potentially re-infect Butembo."
Despite the development of an effective vaccine and treatments, a
recent surge in violence by rebel militias and criminal bands near
Congo's borders with Uganda and Rwanda has hampered efforts to
contain the outbreak.
"That has created the perfect storm that has allowed virus to get
away from us and go on underground," Ryan said.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehey; Writing by Alessandra Prentice;
Editing by Giles Elgood
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