DRC declares new Ebola epidemic after one case

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) health officials announced a new Ebola outbreak on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement Saturday. A case was verified in the city of Mbandaka, in the northern Equateur Province.

This is the province’s third Ebola epidemic since 2018 and the country’s 14th since 1976, the WHO said.

“We are running out of time,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, stated. “We are now playing catch-up with the illness, which has a two-week head start. The good news is that the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s health officials has more expertise than anybody else in the world in swiftly containing Ebola epidemics.”

According to the WHO, just one case has been confirmed thus far. The patient, a 31-year-old guy, became ill on April 5. After being ill for more than a week at home, he sought care at a nearby health center. On April 21, the individual was taken to an Ebola treatment center for critical care but died later that day, according to the WHO.

WHO claimed health professionals detected Ebola signs and “quickly” submitted samples for testing. “Efforts to contain the present outbreak have begun,” the group stated, adding that vaccines will begin in the following days.

“Many individuals in Mbandaka have previously been inoculated against Ebola, which could help mitigate the disease’s impact,” Moeti explained. “All individuals who received vaccinations during the 2020 epidemic will receive a second dose.”

The WHO stated that the deceased patient had a “safe and respectful burial,” which included adjusting traditional funeral procedures to reduce the danger of hazardous fluids contaminating visitors. Anyone who came into touch with the patient has been identified and will be watched, the group noted. Additionally, the health institution where the patient received care has been decontaminated.

The previous outbreaks in Equateur Province were in 2020 when the WHO reported 130 cases, and in 2018, when the WHO reported 54 cases.

“Ebola is a highly contagious and frequently lethal infection that affects humans and other primates,” the WHO stated. Case fatality rates in previous epidemics ranged from 25% to 90%, but effective therapy is available, and if patients receive it early on, their chances of survival “increase dramatically,” the report stated.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s equatorial woods has been a hotspot of the Central African country’s Ebola outbreak, with over 2,000 people killed by the illness between 2018 and 2020.

Since 1976, when the virus was identified along the Ebola River in the DRC’s northern area, the DRC has had more Ebola outbreaks than any other country.

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