Why does Ebola keep re-occurring in the DRC?

In mid-April two family members in Mbandaka in the north-western Equateur Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo died from the virus within days of each other.

This was the country’s 14th outbreak since the very first one back in the 70s when it was discovered.

So much has changed and improved in the fight against this virus since the worst outbreaks in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, which left tens of thousands of people dead in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

It’s believed that on average the virus kills about 50 percent of those infected, but it can be contained and treated, if caught early.

There’s now a vaccine against it and a new rollout is underway in Mbandaka to mitigate the latest outbreak.

But despite all this progress Ebola still resurges. Today Alan Kasujja is asking why Ebola keeps re-occurring in the DRC?

Guests:

Rhoda Odhiambo, BBC Health Correspondent

Dr. Mory Keïta, WHO Incident Manager of Ebola response in the DRC