Democratic Republic of Congo health officials have confirmed the first Ebola case in Bas-Uele province, after a motorcycle taxi driver died there and later tested positive for the virus.
Jean-Jacques Muyembe, head of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, told Reuters the man traveled from Haut-Uele province, where the outbreak was already active, to Bas-Uele’s capital Buta. He developed hemorrhagic symptoms consistent with Ebola and died before his test result came back.
The case is raising alarm because of what happened before and after his death. Muyembe said the driver visited several health facilities while sick. After he died, other motorcycle taxi drivers tried to take the body, and police had to intervene. That chain of contact means multiple people may have been exposed.
Bas-Uele has not previously recorded Ebola cases. Under current rules, it won’t be officially listed as an affected province until local transmission is confirmed.
The outbreak itself was declared on May 15 and has now hit five provinces. Haut-Uele alone has 113 confirmed cases, according to government data published Tuesday.
This is Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak. As of Wednesday, officials reported 4,566 infections and 2,128 deaths. That makes it the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, after the 2014 to 2016 West Africa epidemic.
Surveillance teams are now working in Buta to trace contacts and contain any further spread.
