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The most serious Ebola crisis that the country of Central Africa has ever faced continues to spread in its northeastern region. Daily bulletins issued by DRC's health ministry over the past two days confirmed Thursday seven new cases of haemorrhagic fever and 13 more the day before. The country's Ministry of Health stressed the severity of the epidemic.
Commenting on Wednesday's report, considered one of the highest daily counts since the epidemic was discovered in August, Health Ministry spokeswoman Jessica Ilunga said, "This is rather exceptional. "
The new Ebola outbreak in Congo has so far affected 393 people.
According to the latest report released by the DRC's Ministry of Health, dated November 22, 346 people have been confirmed to be infected with the Ebola virus.
47 others are investigated as "suspects".
LEARN MORE: The Ebola epidemic in Congo has occurred: 333 cases and 209 deaths
A total of 222 people were killed by the virus and 117 recovered.
The epidemic has severely hit the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, bordering Uganda and Rwanda, raising fears that the epidemic will spread to other parts of the country. 39, other countries.
This led the World Health Organization (WHO) to vaccinate health workers in high-risk districts bordering the DRC.
The organization explained: "By vaccinating front-line health workers against Ebola, even before Uganda detects a single case, health authorities are cautious and have drawn bitter lessons from previous outbreaks. "
LEARN MORE: Ebola epidemic in Congo: 31,000 cases – 198 deaths, spreading disease
The number of new cases has accelerated last month.
An emergency committee of WHO experts said last month that the epidemic could worsen significantly if the response was not strengthened. .
But what the WHO describes as "ongoing challenges" makes it even more difficult for local and global authorities to intervene and contain the epidemic.
As confirmed in the latest external WHO status report on the epidemic, treatments, vaccination programs and secure burial of victims had to be suspended last Friday after an armed group attempted to 39 attack UN peacekeepers in Beni, North Kivu.
Although the peacekeepers managed to repel the attackers after hours of violent clashes, all field activities were suspended in the city until Sunday.
And earlier this month, at least seven peacekeepers were killed and 10 others wounded in a coordinated military attack against rebel forces, according to the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC.
The violence is the result of two battles to control the region and a mistrust of health directives.
The violence and the complexity of controlling ebola outbreaks have led experts to believe that the epidemic will last at least "six more months".
Peter Salama, WHO Assistant Director General for Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Response, said: "It is very difficult to predict timeframes for an outbreak as well. complicated, with so many variables beyond our control, but we certainly expect at least another six months before we can declare this outbreak over. "
Congo has experienced 10 outbreaks of Ebola since the discovery of the virus near its eponymous river, Ebola, in 1976.
According to the WHO, the first symptoms of Ebola are the sudden onset of fever, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches and sore throats.
Then come vomiting, diarrhea, rash, symptoms of kidney and liver failure and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding.
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