With Ebola at a 'critical point' in Congo, aid groups scramble to limit the outbreak

MBANDAKA, Congo - The two brothers of Adalbert Wanza made a 170-mile round trip voyage on foot, boat and motorcycle through Congo's dense rain forest to bring him, and ultimately the rest of the world, grave news.

A visitor had died while in their home village, Ikoko-Impenge. A local priest buried him with ritual honors, including giving the corpse its last food and drink. Days later, the priest and most of his family were dead, too. When he heard the story, Wanza, the Catholic bishop of Mbandaka, knew it could be Ebola, which is endemic in the forest, and contacted health officials. Lab tests would prove him right.

Over the next three weeks, the most serious outbreak of the virus since a devastating epidemic in West Africa between 2014 and 2016 spread from deep within the rain forest to bigger towns and finally to Mbandaka, a regional hub of nearly 1.2 million people at the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers.

As of Friday, 37 cases of Ebola had been confirmed, four of them in Mbandaka, where it can more easily spread. Twelve confirmed cases resulted in death, as have an additional 13 suspected or probable cases.

The outbreak has triggered a massive effort to contain it, led by the Congolese government and the World Health Organization, and aided by numerous aid groups. Dozens of health workers are bringing experience from the West African epidemic.

They are also bringing an abundance of caution..