Congo says 782 Ebola cases confirmed, two new health zones affected

KINSHASA — The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has risen to 782 after 72 new infections were reported within a 24-hour period, marking one of the largest single-day increases in the current outbreak, government data showed on Sunday.

The confirmed cases include 181 deaths, according to the latest official situation report.

Authorities said the outbreak, the country’s 17th recorded flare-up of Ebola virus disease, remains concentrated in three eastern provinces: Ituri Province, North Kivu Province, and South Kivu Province.

Health officials also confirmed that infections have now been detected for the first time in the Nia-Nia health zone in Ituri and the Mabalako health zone in North Kivu.

There are now confirmed cases in 20 of Ituri’s 36 health zones and in 10 of North Kivu’s 34 health zones, along with one health zone in South Kivu, underscoring the continued geographic spread of the outbreak within affected regions.

-Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Edmund Klamann/Reuters