In brief
- WHO has declared an international health emergency over a rare strain of Ebola.
- Officials first announced the latest outbreak in the DRC on Friday, with 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international health emergency in response to a rare Ebola strain responsible for multiple fatalities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). However, the organization has not escalated the situation to a pandemic level.
In a statement, the WHO, based in Geneva, announced that the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC and Uganda is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), yet it does not fulfill the criteria for a pandemic emergency.
Ebola is known for its high contagion risk, spreading through contact with bodily fluids like blood, vomit, or semen. Although the disease is uncommon, it is both severe and frequently lethal.
The current outbreak was initially reported in the DRC on Friday, with authorities noting 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases.
By the following day, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recorded 336 suspected cases and confirmed 13, with four fatalities among these confirmed instances.
During a virtual briefing on Saturday, Africa CDC director-general Jean Kaseya revealed that the initial cases emerged in the Mongwalu health zone, a region characterized by significant mining activity and high traffic.
“Cases subsequently migrated to Rwampara and Bunia as patients sought medical care, enabling spread across three health zones,” he said.
A high number of active cases remain within the local community, particularly in Mongwalu, Kaseya said, “significantly complicating containment and contact tracing efforts”.
Insecurity in Ituri — where self-proclaimed Islamic State-group-backed militants carry out rampant, deadly attacks — continues to restrict surveillance and rapid response operations, he added.
Of the 87 deaths, 57 are in the Mongwalu health zone, 27 in the Rwampara health zone and three in Bunia, Ituri’s main city.
Congolese health minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said late on Friday that test results confirmed the Bundibugyo virus, a variant of the disease that has been less prominent in Congo’s past outbreaks. This is Congo’s 17th outbreak since Ebola first emerged in the country in 1976.
The suspected index case in the latest outbreak is a nurse who died at a hospital in Bunia, Kamba said. He said the case dates back three weeks to 24 April.
He did not say whether samples from the nurse were tested, but said the person presented symptoms suggestive of Ebola.
Uganda confirmed Friday an Ebola case that authorities said was “imported” from Congo. The person died at the Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, on 14 May.
The Africa CDC had said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to the proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan.
Congo has experience managing Ebola outbreaks but often faces logistical challenges in delivering expertise and supplies to affected regions.
As Africa’s second-largest country by land area, Congo’s provinces are far from one another and mostly battling conflict. Ituri, for instance, is around 1,000km from the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, and is ravaged by violence from IS-group-backed militants.
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