An American employee in eastern Congo is HIV-positive for the Ebola virus

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – A plumber assigned to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive for Ebola, said Friday the Ministry of Health, first case of a UN employee contracted the disease the current outbreak.

The plumber reportedly contracted the virus at a health center in Beni City run by a traditional healer where a person with Ebola had sought treatment, the ministry said in a daily bulletin.

The Ebola outbreak in the eastern border areas of Congo with Uganda and Rwanda has worsened significantly in recent weeks due to community resistance to health workers and insecurity caused by rebel groups active in the region.

The Ministry of Health has announced that five more confirmed cases and five new deaths have been registered. This brings the total number of deaths to 130 and confirmed or probable cases to 205 since July.

He added that the plumber's colleagues enrolled to be vaccinated Saturday and were put on paid leave for 21 days, the maximum incubation period of the virus.

"A Beni-based US colleague has been tested positive for the Ebola virus and is currently receiving the necessary medical care," Leila Zerrougui, director of Congo's peacekeeping mission in the United States, wrote in a letter to employees. .

She added that the employee had not been working for several weeks and that the search for the person's contacts had started immediately.

US workers have been active in the response to the epidemic, including ensuring the safety of first responders in areas threatened by militias.

Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever that spreads through contact with the body fluids of its victims and kills about half of those it infects.

A senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) told Reuters on Thursday that he expected the outbreak would last at least another three to four months and that it could spread in Uganda or Rwanda.