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Congo health ministry reports first death in Ebola outbreak

By Daniel Uria
Aman walk past an Ebola awareness painting. The Democratic Republic of Congo's health minister said one person has died following an outbreak of Ebola in the country. Photo by Ahmend Jallanzo/ EPA
Aman walk past an Ebola awareness painting. The Democratic Republic of Congo's health minister said one person has died following an outbreak of Ebola in the country. Photo by Ahmend Jallanzo/ EPA

May 11 (UPI) -- One person is believed to have died following a new outbreak of the Ebola virus, the Democratic Republic of Congo's ministry of health announced Thursday.

Health Minister Oly Ilunga said there has been one death and four new cases of fever with hemorrhagic symptoms in the Bikoro region since Wednesday night.

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There are multiple types of haemorrhagic fever outside of Ebola, meaning not all suspected cases involve the specific virus.

Ilunga also said seven people, including two with confirmed cases of Ebola have been hospitalized.

In a report Thursday, the World Health Organization said the risk to public health from this outbreak is currently assessed as being high at the local level, moderate at the regional level, and low at the global level.

The WHO also said there have been a total of 27 cases of fever with haemorrhagic signs, including 17 deaths, between April 4 and May 5.

Congo's latest outbreak, which is the ninth in the country since the virus was discovered in 1976, was officially declared on Tuesday.

WHO released $1 million from its contingency fund for emergencies, set up its incident management system to fully dedicate staff and resources across the organization to the response and said it would work with local health authorities to support the national response to the outbreak.

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