Ebola kills 330 children in DR Congo: UNICEF

Kinshasa, Aug 6 (AHN) The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed 330 children and is severely disrupting essential health services in the hardest-hit Ituri Province, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Thursday.

As of Aug 2, the DRC had recorded 743 confirmed cases among children aged 17 and under, including 330 deaths, UNICEF said in a statement.

"Although Children represent nearly one in four confirmed cases, they account for almost one in three deaths. Young children under five are particularly affected, with a case fatality rate more than double that of adults," the organisation noted, Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to UNICEF, the outbreak also caused a sharp decline in childhood immunisation, maternal healthcare and other essential services, as fear of infection and disruptions to health facilities kept families away from care.

"The Ebola outbreak is severely disrupting the entire health system, with inevitable consequences for cases of malaria, diarrhoea, and other treatable illnesses that are the biggest killers of children," said John Agbor, UNICEF representative in the DRC.

The global medical charity Doctors Without Borders warned Wednesday that the situation in eastern DRC was "more critical than ever," spreading at an alarming and unprecedented pace with "no sign of slowing down."

As of Tuesday, the DRC had recorded 3,973 confirmed cases, including 1,801 deaths, since the outbreak was declared on May 15.

Health authorities in DRC have intercepted a passenger boat outside Kinshasa following the death of a former passenger suspected of having Ebola, officials said Wednesday.

The vessel, which travelled from the outbreak-hit Tshopo province, was halted about 65 km from central Kinshasa. Health Minister Roger Kamba said the alert was triggered after a passenger disembarked in Mongala province developed symptoms including a fever and diarrhoea, and later died.

"We are being cautious," Kamba said, noting that it was a suspected case rather than a confirmed one.

A security and health cordon has been established around the vessel while a mobile laboratory tested all passengers and crew, government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said later Wednesday.