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BENI, Congo – Congolese health authorities say a case of Ebola was discovered in Butembo, a city of 1.4 million people in the north-east of the country.
Jessica Ilunga, head of communication at the Ministry of Health, said Wednesday that the Congolese government and the World Health Organization are taking immediate steps to contain the new Ebola case in urban areas.
Butembo is the largest city in the province of North Kivu in Congo.
The mayor of the city, Sylvain Kanyamanda, urged residents to remain calm and maintain hygienic conditions.
Since August 1, the current Ebola outbreak has seen 93 confirmed cases that caused 54 deaths.
Health officials have launched a vaccination campaign, but they have been hampered by sporadic attacks by rebel militias operating in the eastern region of Congo.
The World Health Organization said that "substantial risks" remain in the ongoing epidemic, noting that while control measures seem to work, health officials are still not able to locate exactly the deadly virus.
The US health agency said most of the recent patients admitted to Ebola dispensaries had received experimental treatments and that many contacts had been vaccinated with a new vaccine.
Four of the 13 new cases in the city of Beni have never been identified as contacts, which means that officials do not know how they were exposed to the Ebola virus. The WHO also reports "sporadic cases" of high-risk behaviors, such as dangerous burials, that could worsen the epidemic.
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