DR Congo Declares Ebola Resurgence
DR Congo Declares Ebola Resurgence
Health authorities in DR Congo declared a resurgence of Ebola on Monday, following confirmation of one case in the country’s eastern province of North Kivu.
A 46-year-old woman died on 15 August 2022 in Beni town of the province.
She received care at the Beni Referral Hospital, initially for other ailments, but subsequently exhibited symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease.
Both the Beni and Goma branches of the country’s National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) confirmed Ebola virus in samples taken from the patient.
Analyses showed that the case was genetically linked to the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces — the country’s longest and largest, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Ebola resurgences are occurring with greater frequency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which is concerning,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
However, Dr. Moeti said health authorities in North Kivu “have successfully stopped several Ebola flare-ups and building on this expertise will no doubt bring this one under control quickly.”
WHO staff and health authorities in the central african nation working to stem the spread of the disease, having identified 160 contacts whose health is being closely monitored.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the vaccination status of the confirmed case.
There are 1000 doses of the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccines available in the country’s stockpile. About 200 of which will be sent to Beni this week, said the UN health agency, to carry out ring-vaccination — where contacts and contacts of contacts are vaccinated to curb the spread of the virus and protect lives.
The last flare-up in North Kivu’s Beni health zone was brought under control in about two months, ending on 16 December 2021. There were eight confirmed and three probable cases, including six deaths.
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