Ebola 2018: The epidemic continues to ravage northeastern Congo

On average, Ebola – which causes fever, severe headaches and, in some cases, haemorrhage – kills about half of infected people, but the case fatality rate in different epidemics ranges from 25% to 90%.

"The response to the epidemic is being led by the DRC government, which is doing a remarkable job in an extremely difficult situation," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, during 39, a meeting of the UN Security Council last week. He added that WHO has more than 200 field staff working in four clusters and in partnership with other organizations.

"We are now at a critical point in the epidemic," he said.

Dr. Peter Salama, Deputy Director General for Emergency Preparedness and Response to the WHO, made a tweet Saturday on 52 patients who received experimental treatments for Ebola during this week. epidemic.

"This is the first time in history that treatments are used on a large scale during an epidemic, giving hope to people with the disease," Salama tweeted.

Complication factors

The province of North Kivu is the epicenter of the current epidemic, although some cases have been reported in the neighboring province of Ituri, according to WHO. The two provinces, which are among the most populous in the country, are bordering on Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.

The Ebola virus most commonly affects non-human individuals and primates, such as monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees. According to the WHO, this is the second epidemic in Congo this year. A previous outbreak began in May and ended in July; he touched a region in the west of the country, where 54 cases were recorded, including 33 deaths.

Since the discovery of the Ebola virus in 1976 in a region that is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country has experienced 10 outbreaks, including those of this year.

Congo is also experiencing a long-term humanitarian crisis that includes an intermittent armed conflict, according to the WHO. Other health epidemics, including cholera, measles and polio, as well as human trafficking, are flourishing there. The WHO estimated that more than one million refugees and internally displaced persons are in North Kivu and Ituri, and their movements across the provinces. constitute a potential risk factor for the spread of the Ebola virus.

Tedros noted that increasing the frequency and intensity of attacks by armed groups was an obstacle to stopping the epidemic.

The meeting, which took place in Entebbe, Uganda, focused on measures to be taken to prevent the spread of the Ebola outbreak. Countries worked to develop an action plan to further develop their emergency preparedness and response mechanisms, the ministry said.

Health workers face two obstacles: security and "pockets of distrust of the community, especially around the village of Ndindi, where many of the more recent cases have taken place," Tedros said.

"A small but significant number of people refuse active follow-up or refuse to be treated in Ebola treatment units," he said. "We are working closely with religious leaders, youth and women's groups and families themselves to overcome this obstacle."