Cluster of presumptive Ebola virus cases in North Kivu in the DRC

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced on 1 August 2018 that preliminary laboratory results indicate a cluster of cases of Ebola virus in North Kivu province. This statement was issued little more than a week after the Ministry of Health declared the end of an outbreak in Equateur Province in the far western part of the country, 2500km from North Kivu.

The Ministry of Health of the DRC informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) that four out of six samples tested positive for Ebola virus at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in Kinshasa. Further testing is on-going.

North Kivu hosts over one million displaced people. The province shares borders with Rwanda and Uganda with a great deal of cross-border movement due to trade activities. WHO will continue to work with neighbouring countries to ensure health authorities are alert and prepared to respond. North Kivu is an active conflict zone in a remote area and therefore the virus is not that likely to spread.

Source: WHO, 1 August 2018