Ebola has now infected more than 1,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in an outbreak that has spread to a third displacement camp and killed an 18-month-old girl. Congo’s government confirmed that its death toll reached 254.
A Congolese health report stated that the 18-month-old baby tested for Ebola on June 14 in the Hungbe displacement camp, and died before the positive result came back the next day. The report said the baby had developed a fever more than a week earlier, and was carried on foot to two different health centres and given antibiotics before finally getting tested. At least 107 people came into contact with her.
Dr Emmanuel Musingusi Bulemu, a Congolese health official in the surrounding Nizi zone, said there was a shortage of facilities to isolate patients.
According to preliminary data from the UN children’s agency UNICEF, so far, nearly a fifth of confirmed cases have been children. A much smaller number of cases have also been reported in neighbouring Uganda.
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