KINSHASA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Two Ebola cases have been reported in Nord-Ubangi Province in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a former health minister said Wednesday, raising concerns that the outbreak may have spread to an eighth province.
Jean-Jacques Mbungani Mbanda, a former DRC health minister and current member of parliament, said in a post on social media that repeated tests conducted at the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa had confirmed the two infections.
He said the country's health ministry was expected to issue an official statement shortly. The cases have yet to be formally announced by the health authorities.
According to the latest national Ebola situation report, as of Oct. 12, a total of 9,144 confirmed cases, including 4,410 deaths, have been reported since the outbreak was declared in May.
A total of 65 health zones across seven provinces were affected, with the eastern province of Ituri remaining the epicenter, accounting for 73.6 percent of all cases.
Caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, the current outbreak is the deadliest ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally, after the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa. ■
