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The Democratic Republic of Congo is battling a new outbreak of the Ebola virus in the northwestern part of the country. It is the eighth outbreak since 2007, but this time the country seems prepared to handle it.
Congo: Ebola returns
First recorded case since 11th outbreak
In November, the DRC announced containing its 11th outbreak, that killed 55 out of 130 cases over about six months, in the northwestern province of Equateur.
Congo had just announced containing its most lethal outbreak that began in 2018 in the eastern part of the country, about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) away from Equateur, when a resurgence was recorded in 2020.
The African country has experienced 11 outbreaks since the virus was first discovered near the Ebola River in 1976, more than double any other country.
The country s equatorial forests have a receptive environment for the highly contagious virus, which spreads through contact with body fluids, causing severe vomiting and diarrhea.