May 20

Ebola confirmed in a city of more than 1 million in Congo

Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to the capital of northwestern Equateur province. The country’s health minister says two suspected cases of hemorrhagic fever were reported in the Wangata health zones, which includes Mbandaka, a city of nearly 1.2 million people. One sample proved positive for the Ebola virus. Mbandaka is about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Bikoro, the rural area where the outbreak was announced last week.

Congo Health Minister Oly Ilunga says he is worried because Mbandaka is densely populated and at the crossroads of Equateur province. The city lies on the Congo River, a crucial travel hub in the vast country where infrastructure is largely poor. Downstream is Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, with a population of roughly 10 million.

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