The Ebola outbreak in Congo could be declared a public health emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) will meet Wednesday to determine whether the worsening Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) constitutes a public health emergency of far-reaching concern. international.

The meeting, to be held at United Nations headquarters in Geneva, comes about a month after WHO has raised the level of Ebola risk in the DRC from "high" to "very high," according to a report. UN press release. At that time, the overall risk was considered low and the WHO did not recommend limiting travel or trade to and from the DRC. But according to the conclusion of Wednesday's emergency meeting, this designation may soon change.

Here is what you need to know about the Ebola epidemic in the DRC.

How serious is the Ebola outbreak?

The current Ebola epidemic outbreak in the DRC, 10 times in 40 years, was officially declared on August 1, shortly after the end of another epidemic in the country that left 33 dead. As of 15 October, the WHO had registered 181 confirmed cases of Ebola, as well as 35 suspected cases. Nearly 140 deaths have been reported, of which 104 have been confirmed as attributable to the Ebola virus. According to a recent WHO report, about half of all confirmed cases have been reported in the health zones of Beni and Mabalako, located in the densely populated province of North Kivu, in the country. The disease appears to be spreading in the health zones of Beni, Butembo and Mabalako.

Fifty people had been successfully treated for the Ebola virus and were released in their communities on 7 October, the report said.

Is the Ebola virus spreading?

Ebola – a rare and serious virus that causes fatigue, muscle and stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea and unexplained bleeding – can be highly contagious and spread through direct contact with infected people or their bodily fluids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Although no case of the virus has been confirmed outside the DRC, according to the latest WHO case report, a case was confirmed near the Ugandan border at the end of the month. of September. WHO and the Ministry of Health closely monitor countries that share borders with the DRC, including Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.

A number of factors could allow the transmission of the disease to spread beyond the borders of the DRC, brandishing red flags. "The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains at a critical juncture due to security threats, community reluctance and increased geographic spread," says case report from WHO. "Intervention teams continue to face challenges that require ongoing community engagement efforts, as well as the ability to adapt strategies according to the context."

One of the main problems is a long-standing humanitarian crisis in the DRC that worsened last year, forcing millions of people to flee their homes, according to the UN. More than 4 million people in the DRC are considered internally displaced, including more than one million in the North Kivu province alone, resulting in "a continuous movement of refugees into neighboring countries," said the UN refugee agency. ; WHO. This move, along with travel to the DRC, could increase the chances of spreading the disease, said the WHO. In addition, security problems and community resistance in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri have stifled interventions and surveillance in these areas and have made it more difficult to perform burials. " safe and dignified "to slow down the spread of the disease.

Several other diseases are also circulating in the DRC, including poliomyelitis, cholera, measles and monkeypox.

What is being done against the Ebola outbreak?

WHO continues to closely monitor and intervene in affected and at-risk areas. Several hospitals in the DRC now have the capacity to confirm Ebola diagnoses through laboratory tests and procedures are in place to treat and isolate patients suspected or known to be carriers of the virus. (Nevertheless, the WHO indicates that some hospital visitors still show "resistance" to containment procedures, another risk factor for disease transmission.)

Health workers are also using a new experimental Ebola vaccine to help stop the spread of the virus. To date, more than 15,000 people have been vaccinated, including more than 6,000 health workers or front-line workers and more than 3,000 children, the WHO said. Field trials have shown that the vaccine, manufactured by Merck, could potentially reduce infection rates, and had some success in the last outbreak in the DRC. Merck has provided thousands of vaccines to health authorities for emergency use, but it is still considered experimental because ethical concerns prevent scientists from performing the types of controlled clinical trials usually used to test new drugs.