Ebola virus appears in Goma, but spreads to other parts of Congo – WHO

GENEVA (Reuters) – The Ebola virus appears to be under control in the Goma city of Congo, but it has gained momentum in other parts of the country, where aid workers are fighting against the disease. Insecurity and misinformation on social media, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday.

The latest infections include the mysterious case of a woman over the age of 70 with no history of travel or visitors, said Dr. Michael Ryan, head of WHO's health emergencies department.

The woman, in the remote village of Pinga in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, may have caught deadly haemorrhagic fever while eating bushmeat or other animal, he said. declared.

Nearly 3,000 cases have been confirmed, including 1,965 deaths, since the beginning of the epidemic a year ago, the second largest in history, according to the latest figures.

"In recent weeks, we have witnessed disturbing extensions of the disease … we had a group of cases in Mwenga, south of Bukavu, we have a case in Pinga – a very difficult and inaccessible area in the northeast of Goma, "said Ryan at a press conference.

The Pinga case, announced earlier this week by the Ministry of Health, is in Walikale territory, controlled by the militia, hundreds of kilometers away from those where previous cases occurred near the border. border with Uganda and Rwanda.

"The problem is that this case has no apparent epidemiological link with other cases, nor recent out-of-town trips or out-of-town visitors," Ryan said.

"Of course, we have to make sure that we have no other fallout from the forest, from a zoonotic or animal source. This issue is currently under investigation and new tests are underway, as well as a genetic sequencing, "he said.

Goma, a lakeside town of nearly 2 million residents located on the Rwandan border, has been on alert for weeks after a large family gold mine has contaminated several people. before dying herself last month.

There are currently no cases in Goma, where four cases have been recorded without further spread, Ryan said.

"We have not seen any secondary transmission in Goma – and this is a huge credit to the field teams in a city the size of Goma, which is approaching the end of the observation period for all contacts without proof transmission in the metropolitan area, "he said.

The surveillance of 232 contacts of infected people will end in the next few days, he said.

One vaccine and two experimental drugs, which have shown survival rates of up to 90% during a clinical trial, are effective tools, but face some opposition, he said. declared.

"There are negative social media campaigns, people who have tried to convince people that the vaccine is being used to infect you and that therapeutic agents are being used to kill you," said Ryan.