Ebola Spreads to More Provinces as Germany Confirms Imported Case

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to two additional provinces – Haut-Uele and Tshopo, according to the country's National Institute of Public Health. The institute said all confirmed cases in those provinces were imported from the town of Niania in Ituri Province, although the areas are now considered part of the outbreak zone.

The rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus has now spread to five provinces in the country. The eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu have reported hundreds of deaths since the outbreak began.

Meanwhile, Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany announced that it had admitted a patient infected with the Bundibugyo strain after the individual contracted the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The patient was transferred overnight to a high-security isolation unit.

The hospital, located in the state of Hesse, said the patient's condition is stable. He is being treated in a specialized isolation ward separated from the rest of the facility.

(Reuters, bak)