As of 29 September 2006, WHO received reports of a suspected pneumonic plague outbreak in 4 health zones in Haut-Uele district, Oriental province in the north-eastern part of the country. The local authorities have now reported 1174 suspected cases including 50 deaths. More than 50 samples have been collected and analysed; however, the diagnosis of plague has not been finally laboratory confirmed.
A 5-person team from WHO and the Ministry of Health will return to the field to re-assess the situation with the local medical staff and international nongovernmental organizations working in the affected areas.
Suspected plague in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
