Ebola outbreak: Congo health ministry reports 13 new cases of viral infection, three deaths in its capital Kinshasa

Kinshasa (Congo): Congo’s health ministry said the number of confirmed cases in a new outbreak of the Ebola virus has risen to 13, including three deaths. The World Health Organization has warned that this new outbreak of the deadly virus in North Kivu province poses a particular challenge as the region is a “war zone” with several active armed groups. [caption id=“attachment_4193619” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AP[/caption] The nearby city of Beni and heavily travelled borders with Uganda and Rwanda also complicate efforts to contain the disease, which is spread via contact with the bodily fluids of those infected, including the dead. Congo announced the latest outbreak on Wednesday with four confirmed cases, a week after declaring the end to a previous outbreak in the northwest with 33 deaths. It is not clear whether the new outbreak is related.