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Peter Salama, MD, director general of emergency preparedness at the World Health Organization (WHO), said today at a press conference that the response to Ebola over two months in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a "critical moment".
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health in the DRC reported 150 confirmed cases and suspects of haemorrhagic fever, of which 9 were under investigation. The death toll rises to 100 and there is a new case in Tchomia, the small town near Lake Albert and the Ugandan border. This patient was identified as the partner of the patient treated for the first time in Tchomia last week.
Tchomia is near the border of the DRC with Uganda.
According to the WHO, 39 patients during this outbreak have been treated with experimental treatments for Ebola, including mAb 114, remdesivir and Zmapp. Of these 39 patients, 12 died.
The DRC has stated that since the start of vaccination campaigns on August 8, 11,563 people have been vaccinated, including 4,065 in Mabalako, 3,652 in Beni, 1,632 in Mandima, 884 in Butembo, 683 in Katwa, 270 in Masereka. , 164 to Komanda and 121 to Oicha. , 65 in Kinshasa and 27 in Tchomia.
Attacks threaten the answer
"Overall, trends over the last few weeks have been positive," said Salama, explaining that five weeks ago, authorities reported 40 suspected cases of Ebola a week and that they saw 10 a week. "But this general trend is based on a series of serious obstacles that the response now faces."
Salama said that although the DRC's response has been excellent, there are three major and interrelated challenges to the response effort: the security, the level of resistance and mistrust of the community and its spread in rural areas .
"We are seeing an increase in the frequency and severity of attacks by the armed opposition in recent weeks," said Salama. The most recent and deadliest attack took place on September 22 in Beni, the site of the WHO's operations base. The attack, led by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), killed at least 21 people, including 17 civilians.
Due to the attack, Beni is in mourning until Friday, which puts an end to the tracking of suspected cases by the WHO. Salama said at least three new suspected cases in Beni could not have been examined before the end of the mourning period.
Over the weekend, DRC Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga, MD, issued a statement to the citizens of Beni, assuring them that the intervention infrastructure was still in place after the outbreak. # 39; attack.
"Do not let these tragic incidents divide us," Kalenga said in a letter. "Remain united and united because, beyond the medical response, the only way to end the Ebola outbreak is community mobilization and engagement with health authorities."
Rebels fuel community mistrust
Although most communities have accepted Ebola control efforts, as evidenced by nearly 100% of case-contact immunization coverage, pockets of reluctance and community rejection have allowed some Carry on.
"This is the most difficult epidemic we have faced, and we are now extremely concerned that several factors could create a perfect storm for further transmission," said Mr. Salama.
The ADF is one of many armed groups that have launched social media seeds of mistrust of the government, blaming health officials for Ebola. But despite the dangerous situation, Mr Salama said that the WHO did not currently intend to withdraw from the region.
See also:
25 September WHO press briefing
Sep 24 Update of the DRC
September 22, letter from Kalenga
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