Three new Ebola cases have been confirmed on Sunday 17 October. To that date, there have been five detected cases in the new outbreak in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), three of whom have passed away.

Among the three new cases detected are a 32-year-old woman, a 41-year-old man, and a three-year-old girl who passed away on 16 October. The man and woman remain admitted to the Ebola treatment center in the Butsili area, in Beni, the northeastern province of North Kivu.

According to the Congolese Minister of Health, Jean-Jacques Mbungani, the first case involved a 3-year-old boy, who passed away on 6 October. This case marked the start of the new outbreak in the country, after the previous epidemic was declared over in May 2021.

The DRC launched the immunisation campaign on Wednesday 13 October. 14 people were vaccinated during the first day. Until that date, at least 220 contacts had already been identified and their health status is being monitored, according to WHO.