Ebola toll hits four in DR Congo

Four people have died from Ebola in the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Officials say people have been resisting measures to contain the disease, and hence, the number has increased.

Since the epidemic's resurgence this month, DR Congo has registered six Ebola cases. Of these, four people have lost their lives.

The Ebola virus is transmitted to people through infected animals. Human transmission is through bodily fluids with the main symptoms being fevers, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea.

One person died Friday and another on Saturday, while the two others died at the beginning of the month. Two patients are receiving care at an Ebola treatment centre in Katwa.

Officials have complained that the region's residents were not taking the new outbreak seriously enough.

As in past outbreaks, the population of the region refuses to believe in the existence of the Ebola disease and rejects measures aimed at checking the virus' spread, such as avoiding touching sick people or not washing the dead who are infected.

The tenth epidemic, which was declared on August 1 2018, was only eradicated on June 25 last year because of unrest caused by armed groups and the population's resistance to anti-Ebola measures.

With more than 2,200 deaths recorded, it is considered the most serious in the history of Ebola in the DRC since its appearance in 1976.

Ebola has also resurfaced in Guinea, where it has already killed five people.