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Kinshasa (AFP) – A second wave of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where a first outbreak has already killed 125 people, a minister said on Saturday.
The latest wave is concentrated in Beni, a town in North Kivu near the Ugandan border, said Health Minister Oly Ilunga.
"We do not know the magnitude yet," he added. "The epicenter, which was in Mangina, is now in Beni." Both cities are about 20 kilometers from each other.
This second wave is the result of community resistance to measures taken to fight the disease, Ilunga said.
"The outbreak in Beni is high risk … and the situation is worrying."
According to statistics released Saturday by the Ministry of Health, two new cases have been confirmed in the Beni region, for a total of 127 in the region since 1 August. There were 35 other suspected cases.
On Friday, the World Health Organization expressed concern over the growing number of cases in recent weeks, particularly in Beni.
The last outbreak is the 10th in DR Congo since the detection of the Ebola virus in 1976.
Officials in Beni announced measures to protect health workers after a number of incidents during which intervention teams were assaulted.
Fears and misconceptions about the virus have led to widespread mistrust and resistance to workers in the Ebola response, including those arriving in communities dressed in protective clothing suits. to orchestrate the burials.
A member of the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, was among the latest victims of the virus, the United Nations and the Ministry of Health said.
The work of health officials is also hampered by violence in a region that has long been ravaged by armed conflict.
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