<\/p>\n
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) \u2014 Africa CDC, the continent\u2019s top public health body, on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak<\/a><\/span> in Congo\u2019s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far.<\/p>\n The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.<\/p>\n The Ebola virus<\/a><\/span> is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.<\/p>\n \u201cFour deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation,\u201d the agency said, referring to the capital of Ituri province, near the border with Uganda.<\/p>\n It said preliminary laboratory results have detected the Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples tested.<\/p>\n The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo\u2019s last Ebola outbreak was declared over<\/a><\/span> after 43 deaths.<\/p>\n Ituri is in a remote eastern part of Congo characterized by poor road networks, and is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nation\u2019s capital of Kinshasa.<\/p>\n Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing and control challenges.<\/p>\n The proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan also raises concerns, it said.<\/p>\n The agency said it is convening an urgent high-level coordination meeting Friday with health authorities from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, together with key partners including U.N. agencies and other countries. <\/p>\n \u201cThe meeting will focus on immediate response priorities, cross-border coordination, surveillance, laboratory support, infection prevention and control, risk communication, safe and dignified burials, and resource mobilization,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n This is the 17th outbreak in Congo since the disease first emerged in the country in 1976. An Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo<\/a><\/span> killed more than 1,000 people.<\/p>\n An earlier outbreak that swept across West Africa from 2014 to 2016 also killed more than 11,000 people.<\/p>\n The new outbreak will create more worry for the Central African country, which has been battling various armed groups in the east, including the M23 rebel group, which launched a rapid assault in January<\/a><\/span> last year and has since occupied key cities.<\/p>\n Ituri in particular is also battling violence from the Allied Democratic Force, an Islamic State-linked militant group which has killed dozens there and in other parts of the east.<\/p>\n Congo, Africa\u2019s second-largest country by land area, often faces logistical challenges in responding to disease outbreaks. During last year\u2019s outbreak, which lasted three months, the World Health Organization initially faced significant challenges<\/a><\/span> in delivering vaccines due to limited access and scarce funds.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nCongo has seen more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks<\/h2>\n