Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are struggling to contain an Ebola outbreak after a second person died of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
The country declared a new outbreak of the disease last week following the death of a 31-year-old man, who was diagnosed with the disease in Mbandaka, in the DRC’s northwest Equateur province, after being sick for more than a week. His sister-in-law, a 25-year-old woman, was the second victim. She died on April 25.
“This is very sad news, and we must continue to put all our efforts into saving the lives of anyone else who may have contracted the virus. So far, at least 145 people have been listed as contacts,” Fiona Braka, team leader for emergency responses at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, said in a statement sent to CNN.
The WHO said investigations to determine the source of the current outbreak were ongoing. There have been three Ebola outbreaks in Equateur province since 2018.
The woman began showing symptoms on April 13, Braka said, adding that “rescuers are working intensively to find anyone who may have interacted with her while she was symptomatic and closely monitoring her health.”
She was given a “safe and dignified burial,” added Braka.
The first patient began showing symptoms on April 5 and sought treatment at a local health facility before being admitted to an Ebola treatment center on April 21 for intensive care, the WHO said over the weekend. He died later that day, the organization confirmed.
“Time is not on our side,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said on Saturday.
“The disease had a two-week advance and now we are trying to catch up. The positive news is that health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have more experience than anyone else in the world in the rapid control of Ebola outbreaks.”
Vaccines will be shipped to Mbandaka and administered through a ‘ring vaccination’ strategy — where the infected and contacts of contacts are vaccinated to contain the spread of the virus and protect lives.
The DRC has suffered 13 Ebola outbreaks in total, including one that started in 2018 and claimed nearly 2,300 victims, according to the WHO.
The previous outbreaks in Equateur province were in 2020, when 130 cases were reported, and in 2018, when 54 cases were reported, the WHO said.
Ebola is a serious disease, with fatality rates ranging from 25% to 90% in previous outbreaks, the WHO said. However, effective treatments are now available that improve the chances of survival.
“Many people in Mbandaka are already vaccinated against Ebola, which should help reduce the burden of the disease,” Moeti said. “All those who were vaccinated during the 2020 outbreak will be revaccinated.”
The Central African country has had more Ebola outbreaks than any other country since the virus was first discovered near the Ebola River in the northern region of the DRC in 1976.
Source: CNN Brasil
