In the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the number of Ebola dead has risen to more than 200. Since August, 291 Ebola cases have been confirmed and 201 deaths reported, said the Ministry of Health in Kinshasa. Around half of the cases were registered in the 800,000-inhabitant city of Beni in the restless province of North Kivu on the border with Uganda.
The UN recently called on armed groups in the region not to hinder the fight against highly contagious viral disease. According to Health Minister Oly Ilunga, there are repeated threats, attacks and kidnappings in which two helpers have been killed.
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In 2013, there was an epidemic of 11,300 deaths in West Africa
In Beni, an Ebola corpse was abducted in October. For many relatives, the strict requirements for Ebola funerals are often an added pain as they contradict local traditions.
It is the tenth outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the disease was first discovered in the country in 1976. By the end of 2013, a devastating Ebola epidemic had hit several West African states. In the months that followed, around 11,300 people died in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Ebola is an often fatal viral disease. The transmission happens by direct contact with body fluids of an infected person.