Congo, U.N. deploy specialists to tackle Ebola epidemic

The Democratic Republic of Congo and U.N. agencies began deploying emergency teams of specialists over the weekend to try to prevent the spread of an Ebola epidemic suspected to have infected more than 30 people, they said on Sunday.

The latest suspected case was reported on Friday in the northwestern province of Equateur, which Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga visited on Saturday with officials from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“We have to pool our efforts quickly and align ourselves with the government response plan to fight this new epidemic effectively,” Kalenga was quoted as saying in a joint statement following their visit to the state capital.