2nd confirmed Ebola case in Congo’s city of Goma dies
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KINSHASA, Congo — The man who became the second confirmed Ebola case in Congo’s major crossroads city of Goma has died, officials said Wednesday, adding that he may never have known he had the virus.
The second case renewed fears in the bustling city on the Rwandan border that has an international airport, and it complicated efforts to contain a yearlong outbreak already challenged by rebel attacks and community mistrust.
The man in his 40s was a miner returning home from an area in northeastern Ituri province where no Ebola cases in this outbreak have been recorded, World Health Organization officials told reporters. He could have been exposed to Ebola anywhere between Komanda and Goma, a city of more than 2 million people, as he took motor taxis over a number of days through the densely populated region at the centre of the outbreak, WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said.
The man arrived in Goma on July 13 and started showing symptoms on July 22. He was isolated at an Ebola treatment centre on Tuesday. He had spent five days being treated at home and then went to a health facility, where Ebola was suspected.
