KINSHASA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has risen to 896, including 232 deaths, the country's public health authorities said Thursday.
Twenty-one new confirmed cases, including six deaths, were reported Wednesday in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, the health ministry said in its daily update. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, has affected 33 health zones across three eastern provinces --Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.
Health authorities said 383 patients were either in isolation or hospitalized, while 78 patients had recovered, including 11 newly declared recoveries following negative control tests.
A total of 151 suspected cases, including 35 deaths, were also reported on Wednesday. Authorities said 6,367 contacts were under follow-up across the three provinces, of whom 4,525 were reached during the reporting period, representing a follow-up rate of 71.1 percent.
The report said the number of confirmed cases continued to rise week by week, indicating ongoing community transmission. It also warned that rapid geographic spread remained possible if public health measures were not implemented swiftly.
The current outbreak, the DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak, was officially declared on May 15.
