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There is a confirmed case of Ebola in Mbandaka, a densely-populated city home to more than a million people. This is the first urban case in the current outbreak, and the World Health Organization has called it "a game changer." The patient had recently attended funerals in Bikoro, the remote area where the other known cases in this outbreak have been reported. Ebola is harder to contain in urban areas. There is a higher potential to infect more people and spread to other areas. Mbandaka is also port city, raising concerns about the disease spreading down the Congo River. WHO raised the risk to public health in the country from "high" a few days ago up to "very high" based on this new case. For the region, they raised the risk assessment from "moderate" to "high." The risk remains low at a global level. More than 500 people are currently being monitored in Mbandaka and Bikoro. Isolation zones and Ebola treatment centers have been established across a number of hospitals in the affected areas, with additional medical supplies scheduled to arrive in the coming days.
Updated 17 May: According to WHO's press release the confirmed case in Mbandaka is from Wangata health zone.
Update 19 May: Three additional cases have been confirmed in Mbandaka, bringing the area's count up to four.
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