More Ebola virus in DRC while the murder of a nurse puts an end to his efforts in Vuhovi

The Ebola outbreak in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has increased by 5 cases today, according to daily reports provided by the Ministry of Health of the country.

There are now 853 cases (788 confirmed and 65 probable), including 531 deaths, and 177 cases are still under investigation. New confirmed cases include three in Katwa and one in Kyondo and Kalunguta.

Two deaths in the community among confirmed cases in Katwa have also been reported today. Deaths in the community increase the risk of transmission.

The Ministry of Health also detailed the cessation of surveillance activities in Vuhovi, after the abduction and murder of a nurse from the Bisongo health center. According to officials, a group of unidentified people led the attack.

"Contrary to some information that has circulated, the patients of Vuhovi's general reference hospital have not been chased out and they continue to be treated on the spot," said the Ministry of Health, encouraging the health workers to resume the activities of the epidemic.

New vaccination campaign

Front line workers in the Lolwa Health Zone between Komanda and Rwampara on the road from Beni to Bunia were vaccinated as a preventive measure, the ministry said.

Since August, 82,144 people in the DRC and neighboring countries have been vaccinated with Merck's rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine. About half of these vaccinations took place in Katwa and Beni.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released an update on the outbreak and noted that Katwa and Butembo remain areas of concern.

No new cases have been recorded in Beni for more than 3 weeks, but from 30 January to 19 February, 40 health zones in 12 health zones recorded 79 cases: Katwa (46), Butembo (15), Kyondo ( 4), Vuhovi (4), Kalunguta (2), Oicha (2), Biena (1), Mabalako (1), Manguredjipa (1), Masereka (1), Mutwanga (1) and Rwampara (1).

"Trends in case incidence have been encouraging, however, other indicators (such as still high numbers of deaths in the community, persistent delays in case detection, documented local travel among many cases and the relatively small number of cases among supervised contacts) suggest a high risk of new chains of transmission in affected communities, "said WHO.

"Intervention teams need to maintain a high degree of vigilance in all areas where case and contact research is declining, as in active case areas, in order to quickly detect new cases and problems." prevent further transmission. "

The WHO said the case fatality rate of the outbreak was 62%.

Survival trend for favipiravir recipients

In news of research, today the Infectious Diseases Journal published a retrospective study on survival rates of Ebola patients who received favipiravir in Guinea during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2015.

Favipiravir, also known as T-705 or Avigan, is an experimental antiviral drug manufactured by Toyama Chemical of Japan.

In this study, the case fatality rate in favipiravir-treated patients was lower than in untreated patients (31/73). [42.5%] vs 52/90 [57.8%], P = 0.053 in univariate badysis), but the authors write that the effect did not reach statistical significance.

See also:

DRC Report of 21 February

February 21 update of the WHO

the 21st of February J Infect Dis study