4 Dead In DR Congo Over Fresh Ebola Outbreak

Photo credit: WHO

FRESH outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in Democratic Republic of Congo has left four persons dead.

According to a statement issued by World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday, the country’s Ministry of Health announced that a new laboratory test confirmed a case of the virus which was detected in Butsili Health Area, Beni Health Zone in North Kivu Province.

WHO stated that the case used in confirming the Ebola virus was that of a three-year-old boy who in early October developed symptoms including physical weakness, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, breathing difficulty, dark stool and blood in their vomit. He died on 6 October.

The agency said this was preceded by three other deaths in a family (two children and their father) who died of similar symptoms in september, but were not tested for the virus.

WHO said a joint investigation team comprising members of the Beni Health Zone and WHO, has been deployed to investigate and list the contacts with the victims in order to take effective measure in containing spread of the virus.

The team as at 9 October, has indentified a total of 148 contacts who are currently under follow up by the response team.

Based on WHO risk assessment, there are chances of the disease spreading in the area and beyond, as there were no proper infection prevention measures in health facilities where the three suspected cases were treated before they died due to ignorance of what the illness was.

The statement reads, “the three suspected cases and the confirmed case were admitted in several health facilities where infection prevention and control measures (IPC) might not have been optimal, which increases the risk of spread. In addition, they were buried without following safe and dignified burials protocols.

“Re-emergence of EVD is a major public health issue in the DRC and there are gaps in the country’s capacity to prepare for and respond to outbreaks. A confluence of environmental and socioeconomic factors including poverty, community mistrust, weak health systems, and political instability is accelerating the rate of the emergence of EVD in the DRC.

“Another challenge stretching the limited resources is the concurrent COVID-19 outbreak. The first confirmed COVID-19 case was registered in DRC on 14 March 2020. As of 5 October 2021, DRC had reported 57 197 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1 087 deaths.

“WHO considers that ongoing challenges in terms of access and security, epidemiological surveillance, coupled with the emergence of COVID-19, as well as cholera, meningitis, and measles outbreaks may jeopardize the country’s ability to rapidly detect and respond to the re-emergence of EVD cases.”

The area, Butsili Health Area is said to be close to “Beni city, which was one of the epicentres of the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in the country with 736 probable and confirmed cases reported. It is about 50 km from Butembo city, which experienced a new Ebola outbreak earlier this year.”

The city of Beni is a commercial hub with links to the neighbouring countries of Uganda and Rwanda. There are concerns it might spill over if not effectively contained.

On measures to prevent the spread, WHO adviced that Personal Protective Equipment be used when coming in contact with animals like fruit bats, monkeys/apes and proper cooking of animal products before consumption to avoid wild life to human transmission. They also advised thd use of PPE when coming in contact with infected persons, and also sensitization of communities on safety measures to prevent the spread.