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In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local ophthalmologists are learning to provide specialized care to Ebola survivors.
The knowledge gained as a result of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa 2014-2016 has identified a number of issues that survivors face, including a lack of vision. reduced or blurred resulting in eye inflammation. About 20% of the survivors of this outbreak had some form of eye problem.
By identifying and dealing with these issues quickly, it is possible to avoid serious consequences, including blindness. With the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the World Health Organization recently organized an eye clinic to check the health of the eyes of survivors of the current epidemic. # 39; Ebola.
The clinic was held in Beni, DRC, in one of the affected areas, from March 25 to April 1. In addition, an ophthalmic clinic in Butembo, another affected area, was equipped so that they could provide specialized care to survivors. This is the first time in an Ebola outbreak that a follow-up for eye care takes place so soon after the release of survivors.
Several survivors also helped with the planning and administration of the clinic. Partners in this project include Emory University, which has deployed two ophthalmologists, and the University of North Carolina, which has deployed an ophthalmologist for the project via the global network of warning and intelligence services. 39, outbreak response, hosted by WHO.
More than 250 survivors were seen. The team noted that complications such as uveitis were observed at rates lower than those seen during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa 2014-2016 . Until now, only one survivor had eye complications that could be related to Ebola.
As part of this program, international specialists have trained 10 Congolese ophthalmologists on how to identify and treat eye problems related to Ebola. Feedback from participating national health care providers and registered survivors has been extremely positive.
The next steps will be to continue to follow up with survivors at clinics each month where they will receive medical, biological and psychological care. More than 300 survivors are currently enrolled in the follow-up program.
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