EBOLA SPREADS TO EIGHTH PROVINCE IN CONGO

KINSHASA, OCTOBER 18 /SRNA/ - The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to Nord-Ubangi, the country’s eighth affected province, in the north, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Health.

Two men in their twenties have been reported infected in the Vapinda health zone, one of whom has died. The report did not specify the source of the infection.

As of Friday, the country had recorded 9,415 confirmed cases, including 4,536 deaths. The outbreak began in May, and the case fatality rate stands at 48.2 percent, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The eastern province of Ituri remains the epicenter, accounting for more than 73 percent of all confirmed cases nationwide, followed by neighboring North Kivu Province.

The Ebola outbreak, declared in May, has become the largest and deadliest ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest in the world, after the West African outbreak of 2014-2016.