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Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) yesterday confirmed seven new cases of Ebola and announced new measures to limit the spread of the deadly disease. Six of the cases are in Beni and one in Masereka, 100 kilometers away.
There are now 188 cases of haemorrhagic fever in the epidemic, including 118 deaths, announced the DRC Ministry of Health. Twenty cases are still under investigation. There have been 23 new cases in the last 5 days, a difference from previous weeks, which presented only a trickle of cases.
To date, four administrative measures will be put in place in Beni, the new epicenter of the epidemic, announced the Ministry of Health. The steps are to make it illegal for an Ebola patient to be housed, to use security forces to monitor and implement secure burials, to ask families to present a certificate of death. official death before obtaining a burial certificate and to require all health professionals (including traditional healers) to report suspected cases. Ebola treatment centers.
Officials said the new decree comes after a month of attacks and acts of resistance to the reaction efforts in Beni and the surrounding area. Although the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu province started on August 1 in Mblanka, the activity has now moved to Beni, while health workers are fighting a second wave of cases related to people who refused vaccination or followed contacts avoided.
Three cases related to 1 clinic
Three of the new cases involve children all seen in the same clinic in Butanuka District, Beni. Officials said the risk of additional cases from the three children – who are all dead – is high. To date, 19 health care workers have been infected and 3 have died.
In its latest status report on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that all health worker infections had been caused by an exposure outside the medical setting. On 7 October, WHO reported that the case fatality rate of the current epidemic was 63.5% and that 55% of cases involved women.
"The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is at a critical juncture because of threats to security, community reluctance and increased geographic spread." Intervention continues to face challenges that require ongoing efforts of community engagement, as well as the ability to adapt strategies according to the context, "said WHO. "Together, these challenges have contributed to an increase in the incidence of new cases observed in recent weeks."
WHO also detailed the surveillance situation in North Kivu, noting that as of 21 October, 2,115 contacts were being monitored and that 91 per cent had been seen by that date; 202 had not been seen, of which (180) 89% were registered in Beni. Forty contacts were "lost sight of", including 37 from Beni.
Violence and vaccination
The recent increase in the number of cases may be related to regional insecurity, said the WHO. On October 2, a Red Cross team participating in a safe and dignified burial near Butembo was attacked while she was working.
"These Red Cross teams have been confronted with acts of violence by communities who have resisted safe and dignified burial protocols since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in the country. North Kivu province.However, the recent attack represents a new level of aggression, "said WHO.
Despite the setbacks, a ring vaccination campaign is still underway in the region. Yesterday, 15,279 people were vaccinated, including 5,385 in Beni, 4,289 in Mabalako, 1,663 in Mandima, 1,392 in Katwa, 1,100 in Butembo, 434 in Bunia, 355 in Tchomia, 300 in Masereka, 240 in Komanda. , and 121 to Oicha.
See also:
October 9 update of the DRC
October 9th WHO status report
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