FIVE months after the Democratic Republic of Congo announced the end of its 16th Ebola outbreak in the Bulape region, a rare strain of the disease has hit the country again. This time, it is the Bundibugyo strain, first identified in Uganda in 2007.
This is the 17th outbreak since 1976 when the Ebola virus was first isolated. The 10th outbreak, the Zaire strain, killed over 2,300 people in North Kivu and Ituri province between 2018 and 2020.
It is worrisome that the current outbreak, like the Zaire strain, is in a conflict zone, where many people have been displaced from their homes. It has spread due to delays in reporting cases.
Infected communities were said to have besieged prayer centres and witchdoctors for treatment. They reportedly believe the virus is either witchcraft or a mystical illness.
The situation calls for vigilance in Nigeria.
