WHO rushes to contain Ebola in DRC as it confirms third case

The World Health Organization on Friday confirmed a third case of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as health officials rushed to immunize residents and contain the potential outbreak.

Earlier this week, the World Health Agency confirmed that a woman had died from the disease in Butembo, a town in North Kivu province and the epicenter of a previous Ebola outbreak that had been declared completed in June. WHO has since confirmed two more cases, including one more person who died, Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergency program, said on Friday.

The number of people who could have been exposed to the virus rose from more than 70 on Monday to 182 on Friday, Ryan said. He added that all but three of these people had been contacted and that more than half of them had already been vaccinated against Ebola in previous outbreaks.

“We are seeing some benefits from the previous vaccination, but obviously we need to look at how long the vaccine is protected,” he said.

He added that new vaccine shipments have arrived in Butembo this week. Ultracold storage equipment is being installed in Butembo and staff are being trained, Ryan said.

The DRC also has other therapies, including monoclonal treatments for the Ebola virus, in the capital Kinshasa and in another city, Mbandaka, Ryan said, adding that they will be flown to North Kivu this weekend. end. The DRC has enough vaccines for 16,000 people in the country, Ryan said, but it is not known exactly how many arrived in Butembo.

WHO is “still unclear on the original community source” of the first Ebola case, Ryan said, adding that the DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research is sequencing samples of the virus in its main laboratory in Kinshasa to determine if the new cases are associated with the latest outbreak of Butembo. Ryan said the results were expected this weekend.

The Ebola outbreak declared over in June lasted almost two years. It was the second largest in the world and by the time it ended, there were 3,481 total cases and 2,299 deaths, according to the WHO.

WHO has noted that outbreak response efforts in North Kivu province have been particularly difficult due to ongoing violent conflicts in the region, which is occupied by more than 100 different armed groups, according to Human Rights Watch.

Ryan said the WHO was working with nongovernmental organizations, the DRC government and other UN agencies like UNICEF to respond to new cases of Ebola.

Unlike the highly infectious coronavirus, which can be spread by people who do not have symptoms, Ebola is believed to be spread primarily through people who are already visibly ill. The virus is spread through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of people who are sick or have died from the disease, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ebola has an average death rate of 50%, although it can vary depending on the epidemic, according to the WHO.

“Obviously two cases and now a third may not seem like a lot, a lot of cases in light of what we’re seeing around the world with Covid, but we’ve been on high alert as we wait for Ebola to return to eastern Canada. Congo, and we do everything in our power to support the government in the response, ”Ryan said.