Ebola outbreak reaches 2,338 cases among violence in Ituri

July 5, 2019

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) ministry of health recorded 41 more cases of the deadly disease, including another case detected in a vaccinated health worker.

The continued spread of the outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces has been marked in recent days by increased cases in Beni, Mabalako, and Masereka. These are the towns and villages where the outbreak began 11 months ago. The health worker who was infected is the outbreak's 126th and was also from Mabalako.

Late last week, the United Nations (UN) voiced concerns about ongoing massacres and ethnic violence in the DRC's Ituri province, according to UN News.

At least 94 people were killed in Djugu territory and 23 in Mahagi territory, including an as-yet undetermined number of women and children, officials said. The violence could influence the Ebola outbreak, as it may prompt more migration into neighboring countries such as Uganda, which a few weeks ago confirmed its first cases linked to the outbreak, in a family traveling from the DRC.

The UN also said the disease was moving into small, forest-based villages such as Alima, where access is "more challenging."

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