KINSHASA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A total of 100 cases of Ebola have been reported in Equateur province in western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the world health organization said in a statement on Friday in Kinshasa.

According to the press release, the 11th Ebola outbreak declared since June 1 in the city of Mbandaka, capital of the province of Equateur has already spread to 11 of the 17 health zones of the same province.

Of the 100 cases reported to date, 96 are confirmed and four are probable. A total of 43 people have lost their lives as a result of the epidemic in this part of the country, according to a weekly statement from the Ministry of Health's response team.

"With 100 cases of Ebola in less than 100 days, the epidemic in Equateur province is progressing worryingly," said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for the Africa, before adding that "the virus is spreading over a wide and rugged terrain that requires expensive interventions and, with COVID-19 consuming resources and attention, it is difficult to scale up operations."

The DRC health authorities declared the 11th outbreak a few days after the 10th outbreak under control in the health zone of Beni, North Kivu province in eastern DRC which killed more than 2,000 people.

In 2018, it was in the same province of Equateur that the ninth Ebola outbreak occurred before being contained in less than three months, with at least 54 cases and 33 deaths. Enditem

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