Congo warns of 'rapid' community spread of Ebola, 71 new cases confirmed
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A health worker is dressed up in personal protective equipment (PPE) at the Evangelical Medical Center, one of the facilities at the forefront of the response to the Ebola outbreak, as agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak caused by t
KINSHASA, June 5 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo said on Friday that 71 new Ebola cases were confirmed in a 24-hour period and warned of rapid community transmission of the deadly disease.
The new data, included in a daily situation report published by the health ministry, bring the total number of confirmed cases to 452 since the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was announced on May 15. There have been 82 confirmed deaths.
The cases remain heavily concentrated in Ituri province in northeast Congo, a remote part of the country with poor health infrastructure and widespread insecurity due to fighting by armed groups.
The daily total of 71 new cases - 65 in Ituri province and six in North Kivu province - is one of the biggest during the outbreak, the 17th in Congo's history.
"The number of confirmed cases recorded in the two provinces demonstrates rapid and continuous community transmission," the situation report said.
Cases have been confirmed in 17 of Ituri's 36 health zones, as well as in seven health zones in North Kivu and one health zone in South Kivu, the report said. There are also cases in neighbouring Uganda.
Earlier on Friday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced a $518 million six-month plan to fight Ebola, calling for money and political commitment to halt the spread of an outbreak that is already the fourth-biggest on record.
The strategy aims to help Congo and neighbouring Uganda contain their outbreaks, while assisting other countries to prepare for possible cases through measures including enhanced border screening, the WHO and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.
(Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Nia Williams)
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