Africa alert: Ebola resurfaces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

As it fights against the spread of the coronavirus which has killed 681 people since last March, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in central Africaannounced the Ebola resurgence in the country three months after declaring the end of the latest outbreak.

“We have another episode of Ebola virus disease in the east,” Health Minister Eteni Longondo told state television. RTNC. The case was registered near the town of Butembo, in the North Kivu region.

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The news had a strong impact in a country where the start of vaccination against COVID-19 is still expected, scheduled for mid-year. To date, the coronavirus pandemic has affected 23,600 people with 681 deaths.

The Ebola resurgence took the authorities by surprise, since last November the end of the epidemic, the eleventh in the history of the country, was officially announced, which left 55 dead and infected 130 people, according to the figures. of the World Health Organization.

The new case

The victim is a woman whose husband is a virus survivor. “It is about a farmer, wife of a survivor of the Ebola virus disease, who presented on February 1 the typical signs of this disease” and died two days later, explained Longondo.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has suffered from devastating Ebola outbreaks in the past. The virus was first detected in the country in 1976. It is estimated that between August 2018 and the end of June 2020, more than 2,200 people died from this disease in North and South Kivu and the region of Ituri.

“We analyzed the sample sent from Butembo and it was a positive case. Unfortunately, the patient died, ”said the Minister.

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And he added: “The population of Butembo should not panic because we have already organized the response (against Ebola). A team will arrive tomorrow »Monday in the region.

Eteni Longondo, Minister of Health

The population should not panic

The victim reported the first symptoms on February 1 in Biena, Lubero territory, and died two days later in Butembo.

Context

The worst Ebola outbreak was recorded between 2014 and 2016 in West Africa, where 11,300 people have died and there have been more than 28,500 cases, although the WHO suspects the numbers could be higher .

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The disease is transmitted by direct contact with the blood and body fluids of infected people or animals, causes hemorrhagic fever and can reach a death rate of 90%.