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KINSHASA. – The Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed 55 lives since the start of the month, the authorities said on Monday, as the government announced free treatment against the disease for the next three months.
The health ministry’s latest bulletin said that the death toll had been increased following five new victims in Mabalako-Mangina, close to Beni, the epicentre of the outbreak in the North Kivu province.
In all, “96 cases of haemorrhagic fever were reported in the region, 69 of which had been confirmed and 27 were seen as probable,” the ministry said.
At the same time, the medical team in charge of fighting the disease revised downwards the estimated number of “contacts” – people who may have had contact with the virus – from 2 157 to 1 609, following epidemiological tests.
Beni’s mayor Jean Edmond Nyonyi Masumbuko Bwanakawa announced that the government had decided to make treatment free in Beni, Mabalako-Mangina and Oicha for three months starting on Monday. – AFP.
Online Reporter