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The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed on Wednesday a case of the deadly Ebola virus in Bunia, the second largest city in the east of the country with a population of nearly one million people. ;inhabitants.
The patient is a six-month-old baby. The Ministry of Health said the parents "seemed to be in good health". The ministry launched an investigation to determine how the baby had been infected.
Public health authorities have registered very few cases of infected babies. Since the Ebola virus is often transmitted by infected blood or body fluids, health experts generally believe that infants, infants and children contract the virus through bad milk or through close contact with infected parents.
Read more: From Haiti to Madagascar: the forgotten crises of the world
Public health authorities have been largely successful in preventing the transmission of Ebola to newborns during the 2014 West Africa epidemic.
Attack
Congo is the second most deadly Ebola outbreak, with more than 600 people killed by the virus since last August.
The worst epidemic was the 2013-2016 epidemic in West Africa, which reportedly killed more than 11,000 people.
Emergency response teams have had difficult times, in part because of poor security in the area and community resistance to their work. Armed men attacked several Ebola treatment centers, prompting Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to suspend operations.
The Ebola virus is a rare and highly infectious virus, with a mortality rate of up to 90%, according to the WHO. Symptoms include fever, severe weakness and vomiting. The incubation period varies from two to 21 days.
Read more: DRC neighbors still alert to Ebola virus
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Protective clothing
Appropriate protective clothing for doctors and nurses is essential. All exposed skin should be covered with a material that can not be penetrated by the virus. But the costume alone is not enough: a correct procedure is also important.
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
S & # 39; dress
Health care workers must practice properly to put on a protective suit, as shown by the special isolation unit of Düsseldorf. New costumes are used each time, so there is no risk of infection when getting dressed. Unprotected workers can therefore help.
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Completely separated
The patient rooms of the isolation unit of Düsseldorf are completely protected from the outside world. The air is filtered and the sewage must be treated separately. Protective clothing, permanently used in the service, is maintained at a positive pressure. These measures go further than necessary: if the Ebola virus can be transmitted through contaminated objects, the virus is not suspended in the air.
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Disinfecting shower
Once the patient is treated, the entire combination is sprayed from the outside with a disinfectant to eliminate any potential virus. It is only after this shower that the suit can be removed – with care.
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Outside help
When removing the protective suit, health personnel should exercise extreme caution. By using permanently installed protective gloves, outside badistance can be provided without coming into direct contact with the suit. After use, the combination is immediately removed and burned.
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Infected nurses
Despite the high safety standards, three nurses in Spain and the United States contracted the disease. The circumstances surrounding the infection have not yet been clarified. Nursing homes (as seen here in Texas) have been isolated and disinfected after the discovery of the transmission.
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Protection in Africa
Doctors and nurses from West Africa have also been equipped with protective suits. However, these do not always meet the standards deemed necessary for effective protection. Sometimes small areas of skin are not protected or the material used in the combination is permeable. Plus, putting on the suit and removing it can be risky.
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Isolate the dead
Extreme caution is also required at the funerals of those who die of Ebola. A West African tradition, which sees the deceased's family washing the body, has caused many new infections. For friends and family in mourning, these strict isolation measures are often hard to understand.
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Attempt as an isolation unit
In a region where medical care is extremely underdeveloped, such an epidemic is a major challenge. Infected people, like here in Liberia, are being cared for in hastily built tents. But even a country like Germany would probably be overwhelmed by such an epidemic. At present, the country has only about fifty beds installed in isolation units.
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Incineration instead of sunlight
In some of the affected West African regions, contaminated suits are hanging in the sun in an attempt to disinfect them for later use. But it is much safer to burn clothes immediately after use, as seen here in Guinea. However, supply shortages and high costume prices make these tips difficult to follow. Protective clothing can cost between € 30 and € 200 ($ 40 to $ 250).
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Ebola: fighting the deadly virus
Airport controls
Air travelers are the biggest threat to long-distance transmission of the virus. For this reason, the temperature of travelers is now being monitored in some airports. However, this method does not provide absolute safety: the incubation period of Ebola can go up to 21 days.
Author: Marcus Lütticke / cmk
ls / rc (Reuters, dpa)
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