The Congolese authorities declared a fresh Ebola outbreak on 15 May.
The Congolese government has announced that the death toll in the country’s latest Ebola outbreak has reached 600.
New suspected cases of Ebola had been reported in parts of Congo that were previously unaffected, the government said.
The latest report, published late Wednesday, said two new cases were suspected in Kisangani in the Tshopo province, where cases had not been previously recorded.
“The total number of confirmed cases across the country has now reached 1,759.”
According to the report, one of the two suspected cases was linked to the Nia-Nia health zone in Ituri province, where the first cases were reported.
The other case “has no apparent geographical connection to known outbreaks.”
Authorities are still investigating, the report said.
The Congolese authorities declared a fresh Ebola outbreak on 15 May, after the disease had been transmitted for weeks without official detection, according to the World Health Organisation.
The latest outbreak was caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment.
Earlier clinical trials for treatment began after researchers instituted a highly anticipated study in the hope of fighting the virus.
Efforts to contain the virus have also been hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centres, and an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, the epicentre of the outbreak.
(AP/NAN)
