Declaring the international health emergency due to the Ebola outbreak in the Congo

The World Health Organization (WHO) today declared that the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has become a health threat. international health emergencybut said that this should not lead neighboring countries to close their borders.

The decision was taken on the recommendation of the WHO Emergency Committee and followed the first confirmed case of Ebola in the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, located 350 kilometers from now the village. the epicenter of this outbreak and only 20 kilometers from the border with Rwanda.

The WHO has made it clear that it does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions with the DRC because instead of helping to contain the virus, it would have a terrible impact on the country's economy and it would be counterproductive.

Stop with vaccination

The Congo Ministry of Health is trying to vaccinate about 100 people who have been in contact with the pastor evangelist who died Ebola in Goma, a city in the north-east of the country with more than one million inhabitants, to prevent the spread of the disease.

On Monday, 37 high-risk contacts and 40 confirmed Goma case contacts were vaccinated at the Afia Himbi health center, where the patient (the pastor) had been isolated before being transferred to the Ebola treatment center (ETC). ", said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

"A total of 97 broad contacts have been listed so far." Vaccination will continue until the all identified contacts were vaccinated", stressed the Congolese health authorities.

The first case of Ebola in Goma – the densely populated capital of North Kivu province, with an international airport and located near the Rwandan border – has raised fears that the epidemic will occur. extend to other cities or neighboring countries.

Thousands of infected people

As of 15 July, the number of victims of this epidemic is 1,676 people (1,582 have already been tested positive in the laboratory), while the infections reach 2,512 (2,418 confirmed)according to the latest official data.

This epidemic – the deadliest in the history of the DRC and the second in the world after the 2014 epidemic in West Africa that claimed the lives of more than 11,000 people – has was declared on 1 August in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.

Ebola is spread through direct contact with contaminated blood and body fluids, causes hemorrhagic fever and can reach a death rate of 90%.