The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Wednesday the death of a second Ebola patient in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The latest Ebola death in Goma, a densely populated city in the eastern part of the country, has caused rising fears of the disease spreading into neighboring countries. 

“Just yesterday, a new case of the disease was confirmed in Goma, with the patient later dying – the second case to be confirmed this month in the city of around one million people," read a joint statement released by the UN.

The victim is a 46-year-old man who reportedly contracted the disease at least a month before he was admitted at Goma’s Ebola treatment.

“This latest case in such a dense population center underscores the very real risk of further disease transmission, perhaps beyond the country’s borders," the statement added. 

The second Ebola death comes on the eve of one year since the DRC declared Ebola outbreak in North Kivu province.

“The disease is relentless and devastating,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, and World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley in a joint statement.

The UN authorities maintained that an active conflict zone in the region is severely hampering the disease prevention work. They are seeking more security and a safe working environment. 

“In some of the affected areas, violence is preventing us from reaching communities and working with them to stop further transmission,” they said.

Since the outbreak, more than 2,600 confirmed cases led to 1,800 deaths in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, making it the second-deadliest disease on record. One in three victims of the disease is a child.

But despite the deadly nature of the virus, more than 770 Ebola patients have survived. Ebola vaccines are on trial in the region, but the fear of losing public trust and ensuring the right dosage is proving to be a tough task.

While trials for a single-shot vaccine developed by Merck were done in Guinea, a double-dose vaccine by Johnson and Johnson is also available. Authorities fear administering double-dose vaccines may fail because of a heavily mobile population in the region and lack of a monitoring system.

UN authorities demanded air transport to get responders and critical equipment to some of the most remote areas and warehousing to safely store precious health supplies including vaccines.