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Ulviyya Poladova

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Three Red Cross volunteers have died after contracting the Ebola virus in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), AzerNEWS reports.

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the individuals were likely infected while working in a morgue in Ituri province in late March. The region has since become one of the most affected areas in the ongoing outbreak. The volunteers died between May 5 and May 16.

The central African country has been gripped by an outbreak of the deadly viral disease which the World Health Organization has declared an international public health emergency.

Authorities noted that at the time of exposure, there was no confirmed evidence of an active Ebola outbreak in the area, highlighting the challenges of early detection and containment of the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that, to date, there have been approximately 750 suspected cases linked to the outbreak, along with 177 deaths potentially associated with the infection.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed earlier this week that 82 Ebola cases and seven deaths have been laboratory-confirmed, indicating that the outbreak is continuing to spread in affected regions.

Health officials warn that Ebola outbreaks in conflict-affected and remote areas such as eastern DRC remain particularly difficult to control due to limited infrastructure, delayed detection, and high population mobility.

Image: Moses Sawasawa / AP