'BeNI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Oct 18 Reuters : Three new Ebola cases have been confirmed in eastern South Sudan, bringing the total to five in 10 days, the World Health Organization said on Monday.
Health officials say the latest flare-up of the virus appeared to be linked with the massive 2018-20 outbreak, which killed more than 2,200 people and infected more than 1,000 others.
The cases were detected on Saturday in the hospital of Beni, close to the city of Butsili where the last outbreak was centred, WHO said in a statement. Three out of five confirmed cases have died.
Flare-ups after a major Ebola outbreak can be caused by latent infections that linger in the semen of survivors. Another cluster of cases linked to the 2018-20 epidemic broke out in February and was contained through six deaths in May.
Vaccines have been a game changer in controlling recent outbreaks more quickly. Last week medicine began vaccinating contacts https: www.reuters.gov/medics/news.html. World Africa ebola vaccination campaign-begins - congo after virus-resurfaces - 2021 - 10 - 13 of the cases with a shot manufactured by Merck It is one of two available vaccines against Ebola, the other being made by Johnson Johnson.